CPDA would like to make you aware of the recent announcement for your review. Please be advised that CPDA is working internally on a coordinated response from CPDA members. We will have additional information provided to you next week. Please advise if you have any comments in the meantime.
The USDA National Organic Program has previewed an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR), expected to be published sometime today (September 2nd) and seeks input from public/stakeholders about how to update the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic regulations on inert ingredients in pesticides used in organic production. The ANPR states that outdated references are inconsistent with current EPA requirements, causing problems in the organic industry and for AMS’s administration of the USDA organic regulations.
The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) seeks comments on alternatives to its existing regulations that would align with the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (OFPA) and EPA’s regulatory framework for inert ingredients. Information from public comments would inform AMS’s approach to this topic, including any proposed revisions of the USDA organic regulations.
“For organic crop and livestock production, current USDA organic regulations allow EPA List 3 and List 4 inert ingredients to be used in pesticide products when the product includes active ingredients permitted by the organic regulations. Together, EPA List 3 and List 4 include more than 2,700 inert ingredients.1 AMS does not know how many of these inert ingredients are included in products used in organic production, but it is likely a relatively small subset of these 2,700 ingredients. These lists were last updated by the EPA in 2004 and will not be updated again (see Background section).”
CPDA will provide a more information after the ANPR is published. For now, a copy of the unpublished ANPR is attached. The public comment period is expected to close on November 1, 2022.
