United States Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue SW. NOP 5022

Agricultural Marketing Service Room 2 646

- South Building Effective Date: Draft

National Organic Program Washington, DC 20250 Page 1 of 3

File Name: NOP 5022

- Wild Crop Harvesting 09 01 2010 Draft Authorized D istribution: Public 

### Draft Guidance

Wild Crop Harvesting

1. Purpose

This guidance document provides clarifications on ways in which accredited certifying agents (ACAs)

and certified operations can demonstrate compliance with § 205.207 Wild

- crop harvesting practice

standar d.

2. Scope

This guidance applies to all ACAs and certified operations that certify or harvest wild crops as organic.

3

. Policy

Ope rations may be certified for w ild

- c rop harvesting if they are harvesting crops from a defined

terrestrial or aquatic ar ea, but are not managing the area or crop other than for harvest. If the operation

is re

- planting, seeding, irrigating, fertilizing or applying any crop management techniques other than

harvesting, they should not be considered eligible for w ild

- c rop cert ification and should be considere d a

crop producer inst ead.

Examples of wild

- c rop s include:

**•** Wild mushroom collection

**•** Wild herb collection

**•** Kelp and seaweed

**•** Wild blueberries

4

. Procedure

1. Applicants for wild harvest crops organic certification should c omplete the basic organic

producer application forms and certification criteria.

2. A wild

- crop harvesting o rganic s ystem p lan (OSP) can include :

a) A full map of the area(s) to be harvested defining boundaries, borders, adequate buffer zones,

point and non

- point sources of contaminants and prohibited materials, and crops to be

harvested.

b) For land based wild crop harvest areas

, d ocumentation that n o prohibited materials have been

applied to the land within the last three years.

c) For aquatic based wild crop harvest areas

, documentation that n o prohibited materials have

been applied or contaminated the harvest area within the last three years.

d) A d escription of the harvest plan, including:

i. A d escri ption of the natural environment of the harvest area (e.g. scrub steppe, oak

chaparral woodland)

.United States Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue SW. NOP 5022

Agricultural Marketing Service Room 2 646

- South Building Effective Date: Draft

National Organic Program Washington, DC 20250 Page 2 of 3

File Name: NOP 5022

- Wild Crop Harvesting 09 01 2010 Draft Authorized D istribution: Public ii. Practices that ensure that harvest ing will not jeopardize the long

- term viability of the

crop in the wild.

iii. W ritten procedures for all collectors that ensure that the crops are harvested

sustainably and in a manner th at does not damage the environment

. e) A list of any endangered terrestrial or aquatic plants or animals that occur in the harvest area.

f) R ecordkeeping system that, at a minimum, records all collectors, harvest dates, and quantity

of wild harvest crops harves ted.

g) A description of the monitoring system that will be used to ensure that the crop is harvested

in a sustainable manner that does not damage the environment, including soil and water

quality

. h) P rocedures to prevent contamination from adjoining land use o r other sources of

contamination.

3. In the case of wild

- harvesting plants on land that is already certified organic, the applicant does

not have to apply separately. The wild crop should be inspected at the time of the farm

inspection to e nsure that it com plies with the wild

- crop harvest standards.

4. In the case of public lands or waterways , the responsible authority of those lands or waterways

should verify that no prohibited materials have been applied to the land or water ways for at least

three years pri or to harvest.

5. In the case of private lands and waterways , the owner shall provide a verif ication that no

prohibited materials have been applied to the land or waterways for at least three years prior to

harvest

.

Inspection criteria to verify complian ce could include:

1. An i nspection of the harvest area , prior to harvest, to e nsure that crops are being sustainably

harvested.

2. Verification that the species of plants being harvested are the intended species and that these are

the same species specified on the application and in the OSP

. 3. An interview with the wild harvester and the wild crop collectors to verify that practices

employed during harvest correspond to those documented in the OSP.

4. A review of all written harvest procedures to verify that the y are being implemented and that all

collectors have been adequately trained.

5. An inspection of handlers within the chain of custody of the wild harvest crop.

3. References:

Terms Defined § 205.2

Wild crop. Any plant or portion of a plant that is colle cted or harvested from a site that is not maintained

under cultivation or other agricultural management.United States Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue SW. NOP 5022

Agricultural Marketing Service Room 2 646

- South Building Effective Date: Draft

National Organic Program Washington, DC 20250 Page 3 of 3

File Name: NOP 5022

- Wild Crop Harvesting 09 01 2010 Draft Authorized D istribution: Public § 205.207 Wild

- crop harvesting practice standard.

(a) A wild crop that is intended to be sold, labeled, or represented as organic must be harv ested from a

designated area that has had no prohibited substance, as set forth in §205.105, applied to it for a period

of 3 years immediately preceding the harvest of the wild crop.

(b) A wild crop must be harvested in a manner that ensures that such harv esting or gathering will not be

destructive to the environment and will sustain the growth and production of the wild crop.