“National Organic Program”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

The National Organic Program (NOP) is the federal regulatory framework in the United States of America governing organic food. It is also the name of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) program responsible for administering and enforcing the regulatory framework. The core mission of the NOP is to protect the integrity of the USDA organic seal. The seal is used for products adhering to USDA standards that contain at least 95% organic ingredients.

The Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 required that the USDA develop national standards for organic products, and the final rule establishing the NOP was first published in the Federal Register in 2000^[1] and is codified in the Code of Federal Regulations at {{USCFR|7|205}}.

Overview

The National Organic Program grew from fewer than twelve total employees in 2008 to approximately 37 in 2019. As of February 2019, it operates in three divisions in addition to the Office of Deputy Administrator: Standards, Accreditation and International Activities (AIA), and Compliance and Enforcement.

Regulation

The Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 "requires the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances which identifies synthetic substances that may be used, and the nonsynthetic substances that cannot be used, in organic production and handling operations."^[2] Under this act, the Secretary of Agriculture promulgated regulations establishing the National Organic Program (NOP) in 2000. It restricts the use of the term "organic" to certified organic producers (excepting growers selling under $5,000 a year, who must still comply and submit to a records audit if requested, but do not have to formally apply). Certification is handled by state, non-profit and private agencies that have been approved by the USDA (see section below).

NOP regulations cover in detail all aspects of food production, processing, delivery and retail sale. Under the NOP, farmers and food processors who wish to use the word "organic" in reference to their businesses and products, must be certified organic. Producers with annual sales not exceeding US$5,000 are exempted^[3] and do not require certification (however, they must still follow NOP standards, including keeping records and submitting to a production audit if requested, and cannot use the term certified organic).

Products labeled "100 percent organic", "organic", or "made with organic ingredients" must adhere to the Organic Production and Handling Requirements outlined in the regulation 7 CFR Part 205. A USDA Organic seal identifies raw, fresh, and processed products with at least 95% organic ingredients.^[4] A product that has not been certified organic by a USDA-authorized certifying agent may not bear the USDA organic seal.^[5] Products containing at least 70 percent organically produced ingredients may include a “Made with Organic” label to specify up to three ingredients or ingredient categories. They can not use the USDA organic seal or represent that the finished product is organic.^[6] Misuse of the USDA Organic seal on a product may lead to USDA compliance and enforcement actions, including fines up to $11,000 per violation.^[5] Misuse may also lead to the suspension or revocation of the violator's organic certificate.^[5]

USDA accredited certifying agents

The NOP provides organic producers with resources to assist in becoming certified organic, including an organic program handbook (which includes guidance, certifier instructions, and policy memos), fact sheets, online training modules, and ways to identify accredited certifying agents.

International equivalency

Beginning in 2009, the US implemented an international organic equivalency agreement with Canada. In 2012 they implemented an agreement with the European Union (EU-Eco-regulation), and in 2014 with Japan and Korea.^[9] Under these agreements, USDA-certified organic products do not need to meet a separate set of standards before being exported to the market, and vice versa, as equivalency agreements essentially imply that the two sets of standards are equivalent despite a few small differences and do not require any additional certification for the specific market. These agreements streamline certification requirements and increase access to new market opportunities, while maintaining organic integrity of the respective markets.^[7]

Support and assistance

The USDA NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives (EQIP) Organic Program provides financial and technical assistance to certain organic producers for implementing conservation practices.

See also

References

1. ^{{USFR|65|80548}} (December 21, 2000)
2. ^Text copied from {{cite web|url=http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateN&navID=NationalListLinkNOPNationalOrganicProgramHome&rightNav1=NationalListLinkNOPNationalOrganicProgramHome&topNav=&leftNav=&page=NOPNationalList&resultType=&acct=nopgeninfo|accessdate=15 June 2011|title=National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances |publisher=Agricultural Marketing Service }}
3. ^{{cite web|url=http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/organic-food/NU00255 |title=Organic foods: Are they safer? More nutritious? |publisher=Mayoclinic.com |date= |accessdate=2012-09-09}}
4. ^{{cite web|url=http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELDEV3004446 |title=Organic Labeling and Marketing Information |date= |accessdate=2012-09-09}}
5. ^¹²USDA Organic Seal, United States Department of Agriculture, National Organic Program.
6. ^{{Cite web|url=https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/organic-labeling-standards|title=Organic Labeling Standards {{!}} Agricultural Marketing Service|website=www.ams.usda.gov|access-date=2016-04-23}}
7. ^¹{{Cite journal|last=Jaenicke|first=Edward C.|last2=Demko|first2=Iryna|date=December 2015|title=Impacts from Organic Equivalency Policies: A Gravity Trade Model Analysis|url=http://ota.com/sites/default/files/indexed_files/OTAOrganicTradeReport2015.pdf|journal=Organic Trade Association|doi=|pmid=|access-date=}}