FORMAL RECOMMENDATION BY THE

NATIONAL ORGANIC STANDARDS BOARD (NOSB)

TO THE NATIONAL ORGANIC PROGRAM (NOP)

Date: July 10th 2009

Subject: Further Guidance on a Peer review System

Chair: Joe Smillie

Recommendation

The NOSB hereby recommends to the NOP the following:

Rulemaking Action: ___ __

Guidance Statement: ___X_____

Other: ________

Summary Statement of the Recommendation (including Recount of Vote):

This recommendation recounts the history of Peer Review Panel and presents a structure for the 

creation of a unified and coherent peer review of the NOP program.

The CACC voted voted unanimously 6 yes, 0 no, absent, or abstain. Motion : Joe Smillie 

Second : Jennifer Hall 

NOSB Vote: 14 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain, 1 absent. Motion: Joe Smillie Second: Julie Weisman

 

Summary Rationale Supporting Recommendation (including consistency with OFPA and 

NOP):

The enabling legislation; The Organic Foods Production Act specifies:

SEC. 2117. ø7 U.S.C. 6516¿ PEER REVIEW OF CERTIFYING AGENTS.

The Federal Rule currently contains the following :
"Peer review panel. A panel of individuals who have expertise in organic production and handling 

methods and certification procedures and who are appointed by the Administrator to assist in 

evaluating applicants for accreditation as certifying agents."

"§ 205.509 Peer review panel.

The Administrator shall establish a peer review panel pursuant to the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act (FACA) (5 U.S.C. App. 2 et seq.). The peer review panel shall be composed 

of not less than 3 members who shall annually evaluate the National Organic Program's 

adherence to the accreditation procedures in subpart F of these regulations and ISO/IEC 

Guide 61, General requirements for assessment and accreditation of 

certification/registration bodies, and the National Organic Program's accreditation 

decisions. This shall be accomplished through the review of accreditation procedures, 

document review and site evaluation reports, and accreditation decision documents or 

documentation. The peer review panel shall report its finding, in writing, to the National 

Organic Program's Program Manager."

Response by the NOP:
National Organic Standards Board

Compliance, Accreditation, and Certification Committee

Further Guidance on a Peer Review System

May 6th, 2009

In 2003, the NOP contracted with the American National Standards Institute 

(ANSI) to conduct a peer review audit of NOP certifier accreditation operations. 

The purpose of the audit was to provide NOP managers with information 

necessary to improve the quality of NOP services, support compliance with 

international accreditation protocols, and meet the requirement for peer review 

of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990.

Introduction:

The creation of a peer review panel is prescribed in the Organic Foods Production Act 

of 1990. The intention was to have this group play a role in the accreditation of 

certification agents. In the fall of 1992 the NOSB issued a formal recommendation 

regarding the creation and implementation of A Peer Review Panel. In 2001 the 

Accreditation Committee of the NOSB issued a recommendation that described the 

appointment plan and terms of reference of implementing of 205.509 (before formal 

adoption of Title 7 Part 205) and changing the definition of Peer Review Panel (PRP) to 

reflect the change in focus that 205.509 called for. The new focus would be that the 

PRP would evaluate the NOP accreditation program rather than applicants to that 

program. In 2002 the NOP stated that the PRP should be an informal group of 

Accreditation members and that “we never refused to establish a PRP we didn’t have 

the time” On 02/04/02 the NOP posted a notice on its website that called for 

applicants for the Peer Review Panel.

In their 2005 recommendation “NOSB commends the NOP for contracting with ANSI to 

conduct the review, and for providing thoughtful responses to the findings in the ANSI 

report. As noted in the ANSI audit report, many NOP accreditation activities, especially 

those conducted by the Audit Review and Compliance division, are functioning well, 

while others need improvement. The NOSB further acknowledges that the NOP is 

actively addressing deficiencies noted in the ANSI audit report.” This report cites 8 

specific technical recommendations primarily focused on the NOP programs 

compliance to ISO Guide 61 (now ISO 17011).

Since then there has been no further involvement of ANSI and the NOP has been 

evaluated by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). There have not been any 

reports issued or involvement of the NOSB.
Regulatory Citations Background:

The enabling legislation; The Organic Foods Production Act specifies:

SEC. 2117. ø7 U.S.C. 6516¿ PEER REVIEW OF CERTIFYING AGENTS.

(a) PEER REVIEW.—In determining whether to approve an application for 

accreditation submitted under section 2115, the Secretary shall consider a report 

concerning such applicant that shall be prepared by a peer review panel 

established under subsection (b).

(b) PEER REVIEW PANEL.—To assist the Secretary in evaluating applications under 

section 2115, the Secretary may establish a panel of not less than three persons 

who have expertise in organic farming and handling methods, to evaluate the 

State governing official or private person that is seeking accreditation as a 

certifying agent under such section. Not less than two members of such panel 

shall be persons who are not employees of the Department of Agriculture or of 

the applicable State government.

The Federal Rule currently contains the following :

"Peer review panel. A panel of individuals who have expertise in organic production 

and handling methods and certification procedures and who are appointed by the 

Administrator to assist in evaluating applicants for accreditation as certifying agents."

"§ 205.509 Peer review panel.

The Administrator shall establish a peer review panel pursuant to the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (5 U.S.C. App. 2 et seq.). The peer review panel 

shall be composed of not less than 3 members who shall annually evaluate the 

National Organic Program's adherence to the accreditation procedures in 

subpart F of these regulations and ISO/IEC Guide 61, General requirements for 

assessment and accreditation of certification/registration bodies, and the

National Organic Program's accreditation decisions. This shall be accomplished 

through the review of accreditation procedures, document review and site 

evaluation reports, and accreditation decision documents or documentation. 

The peer review panel shall report its finding, in writing, to the National Organic 

Program's Program Manager."

In light of the recent round of accreditations and lingering questions about the 

compliance of the NOP program to 205.509 the accreditation committee has 

discussed what the NOSB can do to help clarify the situation, bring transparency to the 

process and aid the NOP in its accreditation work. We agree that the initial focus of a 

PRP evaluating certification agents is not practical .Evaluation by ANSI or the National 

Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) National Voluntary Conformity 

Assesment System Evaluation ( NVCASE ) program to the ISO 17011 standard Is the

Discussion:
preferred approach. Evaluations by OIG should be utilized by ANSI or NIST as part of 

their evaluation system. We understand that financial constrictions, FACA 

considerations, and conflict-of-interest guidelines limit the interaction organic industry 

representatives, and even NOSB members, with program evaluation. However we feel 

strongly that some form of overview of the NOP accreditation system by the NOSB or 

delegated body is essential and overdue. 

The NOP will commit to a formal ANSI or NIST review every 3 years. OIG reviews will be 

forwarded to ANSI or NIST as part of this peer review system. A standing task force shall 

be appointed by the executive committee of the NOSB for the purpose of serving as a 

Peer Review Panel, reporting to the NOSB. This task force shall number 3-5 people, at 

the discretion of the executive committee, and may contain member(s) of the 

Compliance, Accreditation, and Certification committee and/or the NOSB; task force 

composition can vary each year. 

Recommendation:

This Peer Review Task Force (PRTF) shall review the NOP Accreditation program utilizing 

OIG and ANSI reports and the 2005 NOSB Recommendations as a starting point. The 

annual review will include a 2-stage cycle of review, with year one focused on 

conducting the review and year two auditing NOP’s response and process 

improvement; this 2-year cycle allows for a more thorough review and consistent 

follow up on the results. 

Committee Vote: 

Motion – Joe Smillie Second Jennifer Hall 

Yes- 6, No-0, Abstain-0, Absent-0

NOSB Final Vote:

Motion – Joe Smillie Second- Julie Weisman

Yes – 14 No- 0 Abstain – 0 Absent - 1