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June 30, 2009
NOP has made additions to the accreditation renewal decisions on a first round of certifying agents.
The following ACAs have been updated:
- Control Union Certifications
Lists of ACA certified operations have been updated. Look for the 2008 lists of certified operations on the main ACA page.
June 26, 2009
NOP has added an “ ACA News Alerts” page just for accredited certifying agents to the homepage—if you are a USDA ACA, please be sure to look at this for special announcements. The link to “ ACA News Alerts” can be found below the Today’s News section on the NOP homepage and on the Certifiers page.
June 25, 2009
TO: All USDA-ACAs
FROM: Barbara C. Robinson, Acting Director, National Organic Program
Deputy Administrator, Transportation & Marketing Programs, USDA-AMS
SUBJECT: U.S.-Canada Determination of Equivalency
Effective Date: July 1, 2009
1. ACAs must inform their clients that effective July 1, for raw produce intended to be shipped to Canada, no field from which such produce is intended to be harvested may be treated with sodium nitrate (Chilean nitrate). Fields do not have to undergo a three-year transition to meet this requirement. However, fields must be designated free from the application of sodium nitrate, OSPs must be amended, records kept, and the OSP must be auditable. This does not apply to products used in processed products.
2. ACAs must document and collect livestock density ratios for all operations certified for livestock, poultry, and eggs. Data required are animal units per acre or per square foot (for swine and poultry) for all certified operations. ACAs may use their own format for collecting such data, such as an Excel spreadsheet. During the next year, NOP will call on ACAs to submit this data to the NOP in a form needed by the NOP so that such data can be reported to CFIA. More details will be forthcoming as necessary. This does not apply to processed products.
Links to information on the NOP Website http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop
June 24, 2009
June 22, 2009
Letters determining U.S. – Canada equivalence:
June 17, 2009
- The letters determining equivalence will be posted as soon as they are available.
June 16, 2009
June 15, 2009
The guidelines for labeling alcohol beverages with organic claims have been updated. These guidelines contain sample labels for wine, malt beverages, and distilled spirits for each labeling category.
Please refer to the website of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau which contains additional guidance for organic labeling applicants: http://www.ttb.gov/alfd/alfd_organic.shtml.
June 4, 2009
NOP has made additions to the accreditation renewal decisions on a first round of certifying agents.
The following ACAs have been updated:
- Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry
- Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce
- Organic National & International Certifiers
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