Deadline Approaching – Give Your Feedback to NOSB Today!

Don’t miss out! Submit your feedback to the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB)¹ before the April 14 deadline.

NOSB will meet April 25-27 in Washington, D.C. to review organic materials and standards. During the April meeting, NOSB will review numerous materials, including copper sulfate used in organic rice production and carrageenan used in organic processing. Your operation may be affected!

To advocate on your behalf, CCOF will submit comments on materials and standards, but NOSB needs to hear from you, too!

Advocate for and protect the integrity of organic standards by simply:

1. Giving your feedback to NOSB via webinar, or
2. Submitting written comments to NOSB.

Oral Comments    

You can present oral comments to NOSB. Here’s how:

1. Review the April 2016 NOSB Agenda summary.
2. Identify materials important to your operation that may be removed from the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (National List). Look to see if any of the proposals and discussion documents up for review by NOSB pertain to your operation.
3. Sign up to present oral testimony at the NOSB webinar on April 19, 2016, or in person at the NOSB meeting in Washington, D.C. The deadline for oral comment registration is Thursday, April 14, 2016 at 11:59 p.m. EDT.
4. Use CCOF’s oral comment template to help organize your comment.
5. Present your comment on April 19!

Written Comments    

You can directly submit written comments to NOSB. Here’s how:

1. Review the April 2016 NOSB Agenda summary.
2. Identify materials important to your operation that may be removed from the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (National List). Look to see if any of the proposals and discussion documents up for review by NOSB pertain to your operation.
3. Use CCOF’s written comment template to help draft your comment.
4. Submit your comment at www.regulations.gov for docket number: AMS-NOP-15-0085-0001 (click on the “Comment Now!” button). The deadline for written comments is Thursday, April 14, 2016 at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

Let Us Know How It Went

We would like to hear from you! If you submit comments, let us know. You can reach us at policy@ccof.org. 

¹Background Information on the NOSB

NOSB advises the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program (NOP) on substances to allow or prohibit in organic production. In general, organic regulations prohibit the use of synthetic substances and allow the use of non-synthetic substances. The National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (the National List) spells out the exceptions to these rules, naming the synthetic substances allowed in and the non-synthetic prohibited in organic production/processing. NOSB reviews every substance on the National List every five years. This review process is referred to as Sunset review. During the April meeting, NOSB will review the 2018 Sunset Materials, which include copper sulfate used in organic crop production and carrageenan used in organic processing.