The National Organic Program will be conducting training sessions on the Access to Pasture final rule. The next one-day session is scheduled for March 24, 2010 in Albany, NY. Accredited certifying agents and other interested parties are welcome to register for the training. Learn more about the upcoming training sessions here.

NOP has issued a policy statement concerning Sunset Review.

NOP has made additions to the accreditation renewal decisions on a first round of certifying agents.

The following ACAs have been updated:

NOP has issued a policy statement concerning organic yeast.

NOP has made additions to the accreditation renewal decisions on a first round of certifying agents.

The following ACAs have been updated:

Federal Register Notice: National Organic Program; Access to Pasture (Livestock) (PDF)

The National Organic Program will be conducting 4 training sessions on the Access to Pasture final rule. The first one-day session is scheduled for February 25, 2010 in La Crosse, WI. Accredited certifying agents and other interested parties are welcome to register for the training. Learn more about the upcoming training sessions here.

NOP has made additions to the accreditation renewal decisions on a first round of certifying agents.

The following ACAs have been updated:

AMS Press Release: USDA Issues Final Rule on Organic Access to Pasture

NOP has made additions to the accreditation renewal decisions on a first round of certifying agents.

The following ACAs have been updated:

Federal Register Notice: National Organic Program (NOP); Proposed Amendments to the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (Crops) (PDF)

Korea Extends Implementation of Organic Processed Foods Regulation: On December 31, the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) published its final revision to the Labeling Guidelines for Food Products, which included an extension of the labeling standard for organic processed food products until December 31, 2010. This was the last regulatory change necessary to finalize the one-year extension. On December 18, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MIFAFF) posted the extension for their new organic processed foods regulation on their website. The new MIFAFF regulation was to be fully implemented on January 1, 2010 and would replace the KFDA labeling guideline for organic products. The United States and several other organic exporting countries encouraged Korea to extend the deadline in order for certifiers to become accredited to the new regulation, and to work with MIFAFF to add language to the regulation to allow for recognition of foreign accrediting bodies and equivalence to foreign standards.

Certifiers who are interested in becoming directly accredited to certify organic agricultural products for export to Korea under the Korean Certification System for Organically Processed Foods are encouraged to contact the Korean Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MIFAFF). For more information, please contact Kelly Strzelecki, USDA Foreign Agriculture Service at (202) 690-0522.