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OTA to Feds: Ensure 'Organic Always Means 'Organic'
USAgNet - 10/21/2016

The rigorous and proven regulatory system of the National Organic Program has established a deep trust in USDA certified organic food products by American consumers. Now, consumers need to be able to carry over this well-earned trust in organic food to cosmetics, household cleaners and other non-food products claiming to be organic, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) told Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and USDA officials at a public roundtable Thursday.

The FTC and USDA co-hosted the roundtable to help better understand how consumers perceive organic claims on items outside the food aisles, and to determine if the FTC needs to issue further guidance to makers of non-food products that use the organic claim or term, but do not use the USDA Organic seal or make any reference to organic certification.

Invited to participate in the discussion, OTA presented the findings of a research study recently conducted for OTA exploring consumers' attitudes, understanding and expectations surrounding organic claims and specifically the labeling of organic non-food products and services.

"American consumers need to trust in the organic label and in organic claims, whether those labels are on organic produce and organic milk or on shampoo and sheets," said Laura Batcha, CEO and Executive Director of OTA. "Our survey shows consumers who are buying organic feel that both organic food products and non-food products claiming to be organic should be regulated in the same manner. Consumers are confident there are standards and government oversight on the organic label for food, and they deserve to have that same confidence for all products with the organic claim."

For more than 15 years, the National Organic Program (NOP) has regulated and enforced strict organic standards for agricultural products. However, NOP's enforcement authority does not extend to certain types of non-food or non-agricultural products, such as personal care products, detergent and cosmetics. As a result, food products in stores have to be certified by USDA to carry the organic label, or risk being found guilty of fraud and slapped with civil penalties and other enforcement actions. But non-agricultural products like household cleaners or personal care items are able to use organic claims whether they are certified or not. If a non-agricultural product does not use the USDA Organic seal and does not make reference to certification, that product can still use the term "organic," and do so without any federal oversight and enforcement.

Organic sales in the U.S. in 2015 posted new records, with total organic product sales hitting a new benchmark of $43.3 billion, up a robust 11 percent from the previous year's record level, according to OTA's 2016 Organic Industry Survey. Of the $43.3 billion in total organic sales, $39.7 billion were organic food sales, up 11 percent from the previous year, with non-food organic products accounting for $3.6 billion, up 13 percent.


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