National Organic Standards Board 

Crops Subcommittee Petitioned Material Discussion 

Whey Protein Concentrate 

August 10, 2020 

Summary of Petition (Original petition 9/30/19; petition addendum #1 12/2/19; petition addendum 

#2 3/21/20): 

A petition to remove whey protein concentrate from the National List was received by the NOSB on 

September 30, 2019. This petition was received at the same time the NOSB is conducting the sunset 

review for whey protein concentrate. The reasons for removal in the petition are similar to the reasons 

cited by the handling subcommittee in its recommendation to remove this material through the sunset 

process. There is adequate organic supply of both form and quantity. Given the commercial availability 

of organic why protein concentrate, this material no longer appears to meet the criteria for inclusion on 

the National List as defined in the Organic Foods Production Act, (7 U.S.C 6518(m)(6)). 

Summary of Review: 

In response to questions to stakeholders requesting if there are any forms not available organically, no 

public comment received indicated that the organic supply is inadequate. In fact, comments detailed 

the organic supply, both in quantity and form, exceeds the organic demand. As noted above, the 

Handling Subcommittee has recommended whey protein concentrate be removed from the National 

List. For a complete description of the review of whey protein concentrate, please refer to the Handling 

Subcommittee’s fall 2020, sunset review for this material. 

The Handling Subcommittee has decided to defer action on this petition until the actions on the sunset 

review are final. If the NOSB votes to delist whey protein concentrate as part of the sunset process and 

rulemaking for delisting becomes final, the need for this petition is moot and the petition could be 

withdrawn. However, if in light of new public comment that a specific form or forms of whey protein 

concentrate are not available and the sunset vote or rulemaking does not result in delisting of this 

material, the NOSB could resume work on this petition. The petition process could allow for annotation 

whereby the NOSB could determine that whey protein concentrate be delisted except for a specific form 

or forms that the NOSB might determine are not available organically. 

Public comments received during the Spring 2020 NOSB were overwhelmingly in support of removing 

whey protein concentrate from the National List. The Handling Subcommittee specifically requested 

information as to whether there are any forms of whey protein concentrate that are not available 

organically. In response to this explicit request, no public comments indicated that there are organic 

forms that are not available. Furthermore, several commenters replied that they had an adequate 

supply of all forms and actually had so much supply that they were having to sell some organic product 

on the conventional market. These comments included: 

CROPP Cooperative: Organic Whey Protein is fully available in form and volume. The processing 

infrastructure has grown dramatically since whey protein concentrate was placed on the 

National List. Processors are established throughout the United States for both finished 

products and condensed whey. 

Roughly sixty percent of our whey is processed into whey powders, with future plans to utilize 

our entire whey stream. Our whey supply could produce 1.4 million pounds of WPC annually. 

NOSB Proposals and Discussion Documents October 2020 103 of 173
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today there is an ample supply of organic whey protein concentrate on the market and the 

supply will continue to grow. In fact, our WPC supply is greater that market demand, where 

large volumes of our supply are sold on the conventional market. 

Western Organic Dairy Producers: We have more than adequate product available to meet the 

current demand for Organic Whey Protein Concentrate. Given this availability, there is no need 

to utilize a conventional product for products labeled as organic. The removal of the 

conventional Whey Protein Concentrate further supports organic dairy producers and organic 

dairy product utilization. 

Milk Specialties Global: As outlined in the petition, the decision to allow nonorganic whey in 

organic products may have been necessary in 2007, but no longer meets the threshold of 

necessity today. We urge the NOSB to remove Whey Protein Concentrate from the National List 

as part of the mandated sunset process. 

Furthermore, at least one organic certifier noted that all of their handlers are currently using organic 

forms of whey protein concentrate and a number of suppliers were identified on the Organic Integrity 

Database. Another commenter also noted that organic whey-based products are also offered from 

international partners, making the supply chain quite robust. 

Questions: 

1. The NOSB received a number of public comments at the Spring, 2020 public meeting that there 

is an adequate supply of organic whey protein concentrate to meet all the market demands for 

this material. To best inform its final sunset review decision at its Fall 2020 meeting, the Board 

is interested in hearing feedback on the following questions. Are there any specific forms of 

organic whey protein concentrate that are not available in organic form or quantity? 

2. Are there any reasons that there is not an adequate organic supply of whey protein concentrate 

to meet the market demand? 

Subcommittee Vote: 

Motion to accept the discussion document on whey protein concentrate 

Motion by: Steve Ela 

Seconded by: Scott Rice 

Yes: 7 No: 0 Abstain: 0 Absent: 0 Recuse: 0 

Approved by Asa Bradman, Handling Subcommittee Chair, to transmit to NOP August 13, 2020 

NOSB Proposals and Discussion Documents October 2020 104 of 173