United States Agricultural 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W. 

Agricultural Department of Marketing Room 2646-S, Mail Stop 0268

Marketing Agriculture Service Washington, D.C. 20250-0268

Service

 

June 25, 2014

MEMORANDUM TO THE NATIONAL ORGANIC STANDARDS BOARD 

FROM: Miles V. McEvoy

Deputy Administrator

National Organic Program (NOP)

SUBJECT: Review of National List Petitions for Sodium Lactate and Potassium Lactate

The purpose of this memorandum is to request that the NOSB add to its workplan the review of two

National List petitions that were submitted to the National Organic Program (NOP) in 2004.

On January 5, 2004, NOP received a combined petition for the substances sodium lactate and potassium 

lactate for use in organic handling. The petitions requested the addition of sodium lactate and potassium 

lactate to section 205.605 of the National List.

On January 22, 2004, the NOP notified the petitioner that the petitions were not necessary since the 

materials were formulated products derived from blending substances already included on the National 

List. NOP understands that interpretation is not consistent with previous NOSB Recommendations on 

classification of materials and there is some confusion in the organic industry regarding their regulatory 

status of these two materials as well as other lactate salts, such as calcium lactate. In response to these 

questions, NOP requests that the NOSB take up the petitions for sodium lactate and potassium lactate

for consideration for inclusion on the National List.

Updated Petitions

Due to the time that has elapsed between the original submission in 2004 and this memo, NOP 

anticipates that the petitioner may want to revise their petition submissions to include any updated 

information that may be available. The original petition submission from 2002 is currently available on 

the NOP Web site at www.ams.usda.gov/NOPNationalList.

If NOP does not receive an amended petition by September 1, 2014, NOP requests that the NOSB move 

forward with the petitions as originally submitted in 2004.

Current Status and Next Steps

NOP understands that certified operations may have made business decisions regarding the use of these

petitioned materials based on previous NOP correspondence at the time they were initially reviewed for 

eligibility. NOP does not expect operations to change their current business practices in response to this 

memo. 

1
United States Agricultural 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W. 

Agricultural Department of Marketing Room 2646-S, Mail Stop 0268

Marketing Agriculture Service Washington, D.C. 20250-0268

Service

 

If the NOSB recommends inclusion of the petitioned substances on the National List the NOP would 

address the NOSB recommendations through the rulemaking process.

If the NOSB determines that the petitioned uses do not meet the criteria under the Organic Foods 

Production Act for addition to the National List, NOP will instruct certified operations to phase-out their 

use of these materials. In this case, NOP would issue a notification after the NOSB’s decision which

would specify the timeframe for such a phase-out.

Attachments: NOP Letter – January 22, 2004 

2
I United States 

Department of 

Agriculture 

VIA FACSIMILE AND POSTAL MAIL 

January 22, 2004 

Christopher Ely 

Applegate Farms 

10 County Lane Road 

Branchburg, New Jersey 08876 

Dear Mr. Ely: 

Agricultural 

Marketing 

Service 

STOP 0268 - Room 4008-S 

1400 Independence Avenue, SW. 

Washington, D.C. 20250-0200 

Thank you for your petition of ]'an_uary 5, 2004 which requests the addition of Sodium lactat~ a.Ild 

Potassium lactate to the National Organic Program's (NOP) National List of Allowed and 

Prohibited Substances (National List). 

Your petition is being returned because it requests action on a substance that meets the statutory 

requirements of the OFPA and its implementing regulations. The NOP has determined that your 

petition meets these requirements for the reasons listed below. 

As confirmed by manufacturers, the materials Sodium lactate and Potassium lactate are formulated 

products derived only from substances that are presently included on the National List. Sodium 

lactate is manufactured from the blending of Sodium hydroxide (section 205.605(b )) and Lactic 

acid (section 205.605(a)). Potassium lactate is manufactured from a blending of Potassium 

hydroxide (section 205.605(b)) and Lactic acid. Accordingly, Sodium lactate and Potassium 

lactate do not have to be included on the National List to be- used in organic handling. 

Should you have any questions, I can be reached at (202) 702-3252. 

Robert Pooler 

Agricultural Marketing Specialist 

USDA National Organic Program 

cc: NOSB 

Accredited Certifying Agents 

OMRI 

OTA 

NOP