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By law, The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) must review every substance on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (National List) every five years. This is to ensure that each material still meets the criteria stated in the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA, of the 1990 Farm Bill).
Since the organic regulations were not fully implemented until 2002, the 2017 Sunset Materials up for discussion at this year’s NOSB meetings includes the majority of materials on the National List (materials are reviewed 2 years in advance of their sunset date). This means over 200 materials are up for review at the upcoming Spring and Fall NOSB meetings!
As only a small percentage of materials will be given an updated technical review, which would ensure the materials meet up to date rigorous scientific standards of safety and essentiality, it is unlikely that many of these materials will be given the proper review required.
With the majority of the National List up for review this year, The Cornucopia Institute is concerned that the NOSB workload is exceeding the ability of the board to complete their duties, which include a thorough review of each material up for sunset. It is also unlikely that the public will have the time or wherewithal to comment on so many materials.
If you use any of the materials on the list, or have information about their essentiality, safety, or better alternatives, we’d like to hear from you.
Please email [email protected] with your comments to the items on the 2015 Spring/Fall NOSB work agenda: http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5109967
