(IntraFish) After three years in limbo, US organic standards inch forward but are still years away. The US National Organic Program (NOP) is preparing a proposed rule for the production and certification of organic aquaculture products and expects this rulemaking process to take place over the next two years, the group said Monday.
The National Organic Program (NOP) has been slow to advance USDA organic standards recommended by the National Organic Standards Board (NSOB) into the final rulemaking stage of the process. The NSOB recommendations were passed in 2009.
In anticipation of this rulemaking, the NOP has received a number of petitions for substances to be added to the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances for use in organic aquaculture. These petitioned substances must be reviewed by the National Organic NOSB.
Furthermore, the NOSB previously recommended establishing four new sections of the National List for aquaculture materials. At this time, the NOP has not determined whether to establish new sections of the National List for aquaculture, or whether aquaculture materials should be incorporated into the existing framework for list of substances.
Existing U.S. rules do not allow any seafood to bear the coveted “USDA Organic” label due to the lack of standards for organic aquaculture production and certification, though some seafood products are labeled as organic because they’ve been certification by a third-party outfit such as Naturland in Germany.