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After 5 years, National Organic Program Switches It Up |
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Written by Kiki Hubbard
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Saturday, 09 February 2008 |
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More than five years have passed since the National Organic Program (NOP) made its debut, and the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), which oversees the NOP, is reorganizing the program to keep up with one of the fastest growing segments of the food industry. Organic sales in the U.S. are still growing by about 20 percent each year, compared to a 2 – 3 percent growth in the conventional food marketplace, with no sign of slowing.
According to an AMS press release (PDF), the NOP will be reorganized into three branches: Standards Development and Review; Accreditation, Auditing and Training; and Compliance and Enforcement.
The AMS also announced an "electronic reading room," where the public can access certain NOP records electronically. And the NOP website is getting a bit of a makeover as well. A new Q & A component will be housed on a site called "NOP-AQSS" – Answers to Questions on the Standards by the Staff. (Just when you thought acronyms couldn't get any longer.)
These efforts to increase transparency and expand the interface between the NOP and the public are likely in response to the growing unease among consumers about the integrity of the USDA organic label. We should applaud AMS for responding to change and growth. But make no mistake: the role of eaters in holding the agency accountable for regulatory compromises that weaken the integrity of, and our confidence in, the organic label must keep up with this growth, too.
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