AMS No. 321-06

Billy Cox (202) 720-8998

billy.cox@usda.gov

Joan Shaffer (202) 720-8998

joan.shaffer@usda.gov

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28, 2006 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has revised the National Organic Program (NOP) guidelines on the submission of petitions of substances for inclusion on or removal from the National List of Substances Allowed and Prohibited (National List) in Organic Production and Handling. The updated guidelines include modifications for information to be included in a petition to review a non-organic agricultural product for inclusion in the National List. The National List identifies the synthetic substances that may be used and the non-synthetic substances that may not be used in organic production and handling.

Anyone may submit a petition requesting a substance to be reviewed by the NOP and National Organic Standards Board. Each substance must be submitted in a separate petition. Petition information not categorized and accepted by USDA as Confidential Business Information (CBI) will be considered available to the public for inspection.

For additional information on procedures for submitting petitions to amend the National List, contact Robert Pooler, Agricultural Marketing Specialist, National Organic Program, USDA Stop 0268, Room 4008-S, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington DC 20250-0268; tel. (202) 720-3252; fax (202) 205-7808; e-mail bob.pooler@usda.gov.

Additional information may be found at the National Organic Program’s homepage: http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/NationalList/ListHome.html.