OTA’s final comments addressing NOP’s Draft Guidance on Classification of Materials and NOP’s Proposed Rule on Sunset Review 2013 are now available. The Classification of Materials draft guidance describes the procedure used to classify materials as synthetic or non-synthetic, and as agricultural or non-agricultural under NOP regulations. The proposed rule addresses several substances scheduled to expire from the National [...]
Tag Archives | Food Safety
OTA on the Road
Farm To Label: Gwendolyn Wyard, OTA’s Regulatory Director of Organic Standards and Food Safety, and OTA Board Member Kelly Shea spoke at the first annual Farm to Label event May 23 sponsored by the Davis Wright Tremaine law firm. The event was organized to connect farmers with individuals and companies making food and beverage products. The [...]
OTA issues special alert about Hepatitis A outbreak
Yesterday, OTA sent out a special alert to its members giving them talking points on a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigation into an outbreak of Hepatitis A linked to a frozen organic berry mix. Noting that the outbreak was a serious food safety issue, OTA pointed [...]
The issue
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are investigating an outbreak of Hepatitis A linked to a frozen organic berry mix—Townsend Farms Organic Anti-Oxidant Blend—sold by Townsend Farms based in Oregon. Hepatitis A is a contagious liver disease that can be contracted when an infected food [...]
More details
The Townsend Farms Organic Anti-oxidant Blend frozen berry mix associated with the outbreak contains pomegranate seeds from Turkey, which CDC has indicated may be implicated. Preliminary lab tests indicate the outbreak strain is rarely found in North or South America but in regions of North Africa and the Middle East. According to CDC, this particular [...]
Food safety regulations
The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), signed into law by President Obama on Jan. 4, enables FDA to better protect public health by strengthening the food safety system. One driving force behind the enactment of FSMA was to give FDA new tools and authority to make certain imported foods meet the same safety standards [...]
Organic provisions for food safety
While this Hepatitis A outbreak is a serious food safety issue, it is not in of itself an organic issue. All products marketed and sold as organic in the United States—regardless of where they are produced—must meet the requirements of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990. The organic system is built on third-party certification, [...]
Going forward
OTA will continue to monitor developments in this story. For media queries, contact OTA spokesperson Barbara Haumann (802-275-3820). For information on issues related to FDA and National Organic Program requirements for organic, contact Gwendolyn Wyard, OTA’s Regulatory Director, Organic Standards & Food Safety (503-798-3294).
Classification of Materials: OTA draft comments now available
OTA’s Draft Comments on NOP’s Proposed Guidance on Classification of Materials (Draft Guidance) and Allowed Materials in Crop Production (Draft Guidance) are now posted online. Final comments must be posted to regulations.gov by Monday, June 3. OTA is requesting member feedback by this Friday, May 31. If you have any questions, contact Gwendolyn Wyard, OTA’s Regulatory Director, [...]
Comments due June 3 on materials, inputs, Sunset Review
The organic sector has until June 3 to comment to the National Organic Program (NOP) on 1) proposed draft guidance addressing Classification of Materials; 2) proposed draft guidance on Permitted Crop Production Inputs; and 3) the Sunset 2013 Proposed Rule. The first draft guidance describes the procedure used to address the classification of materials as synthetic [...]
