Comment Period Open for Fall National Organic Standards Board Meeting: Carrageenan at Risk of Removal

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Written by Jane Sooby on Tuesday, September 7, 2021

This week the agenda and all proposals and discussion documents for the fall 2021 National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) meetings were posted online. Sign-up for public comment during October 13 and 14 online webinars is now open. If you want to make an oral comment, register now because the slots can get filled up quickly.

Written comments are due by September 30, 2021, so that NOSB members have time to review them before the October 19–21 NOSB meeting. Comments are being accepted through Regulations.gov.

Originally scheduled to be held in Sacramento, the meeting will now be held online only.

As part of the NOSB materials review sunset process, the board will decide at this meeting whether to keep materials on the National List that were reviewed at its spring meeting. CCOF members who use the materials under review (listed below) should consider making an oral or written comment on how the material is essential to organic production.

Based on votes by NOSB subcommittees, most materials seem likely to be retained on the National List, except for carrageenan. The Handler Subcommittee voted 5–1 to remove carrageenan because alternatives are available, which may lead to a vote by the full Board to remove it.

There is a proposal to update the fish oil annotation for handler use to specify that fish oil must be sourced from fishing industry by-product only and must be certified as sustainable by an accredited third-party program.

Materials up for sunset review include the following:

Crops

  • Copper sulfate
  • Ozone gas
  • Peracetic acid
  • EPA List 3 inerts
  • Chlorine materials
  • Magnesium oxide
  • Calcium chloride
  • Rotenone

Handling

  • Agar-agar
  • Animal enzymes
  • Calcium (sulfate-mined)
  • Carrageenan
  • Glucono delta-lactone
  • Tartaric acid
  • Cellulose
  • Chlorine materials
  • Potassium hydroxide
  • Silicon dioxide
  • Potassium lactate
  • Sodium lactate

Livestock

  • Activated charcoal
  • Calcium borogluconate
  • Calcium propionate
  • Chlorine materials
  • Kaolin pectin
  • Mineral oil
  • Nutritive supplements
  • Propylene glycol
  • Sodium chlorite
  • Zinc sulfate

Please contact the CCOF policy team if you would like additional information on the fall NOSB meeting.