New Organic Standards Act

Various Press Releases, Dec., 2000

In late December, the USDA released the first national standards for growing and processing organic food, a decade after Congress ordered the development of uniform rules to ease the marketing of the products. The standards ban the use of genetic engineering or irradiation in organic products. In issuing the standards, the government said it was not making any safety claims about organic foods. Foods that meet the new federal standards will bear a seal “USDA Organic”. Organic production is now estimated to be a $6 billion-a-year industry. An overview of the National Organic Standards Act can be reviewed on the web, at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/facts/overview.htm

More information about the act will be provided in upcoming issues.

Co-Editors: Bill Hutchison, Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, hutch002@tc.umn.edu
Jeanne Ciborowski, IPM Program, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, jeanne.ciborowski@state.mn.us
Cindy Tong, Department of Horticulture, University of Minnesota, ctong@extension.umn.edu
Production Editor: Suzanne Wold, Research Specialist, University of Minnesota, woldx018@tc.umn.edu

Disclaimer
Reference to products in this publication is not intended to be an endorsement to the exclusion of others which may have similar uses. Any person using products listed in this publication assumes full responsibility for their use in accordance with current directions of the manufacturer

Last Revised January 24, 2001.
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