United States Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue SW. Policy Memo 11-13

Agricultural Marketing Service Room 2646-South Building

National Organic Program Washington, DC 20250

PM 11-13 GMOs Internal Rev02 10 31 11 Authorized Distribution: Public

Page 1 of 4

Policy Memorandum

To: Stakeholders and interested parties

From: Miles McEvoy, Deputy Administrator

Subject: Genetically modified organisms

Date: Original Issue Date – April 15, 2011

The National Organic Program (NOP) has recently received questions concerning the use of 

genetically modified organisms (GMOs) under the U.S. National Organic Standards. This policy 

memorandum addresses frequently asked questions concerning GMOs and reiterates the 

statements made in a 2004 letter from USDA Undersecretary Bill Hawks to the National 

Association of State Departments of Agriculture.

Compliance with the organic standards entails that operations have verifiable practices in place 

to avoid contact with GMOs. Since organic certification is process-based, presence of detectable

GMO residues alone does not necessarily constitute a violation of the regulation. The NOP 

relies on organic certifiers and producers to determine preventative practices that most 

effectively avoid contact with GMOs on an organic operation.

The use of GMOs is prohibited in organic production and handling. The NOP regulations 

prohibit the use of GMOs as “excluded methods” under 7 CFR § 205.105, “Allowed and 

prohibited substances, methods, and ingredients in organic production and handling.” Excluded 

methods are defined as:

A variety of methods to genetically modify organisms or influence their growth 

and development by means that are not possible under natural conditions or 

processes and are not considered compatible with organic production. Such 

methods include cell fusion, microencapsulation and macroencapsulation, and 

recombinant DNA technology (including gene deletion, gene doubling, 

introducing a foreign gene, and changing the positions of genes when achieved 

by recombinant DNA technology). Such methods do not include the use of 

traditional breeding, conjugation, fermentation, hybridization, in vitro 

fertilization, or tissue culture. (7 CFR § 205.2-Terms defined)

This policy memo reiterates that the use of GMOs is prohibited under the NOP regulations and 

answers questions that have been raised concerning GMOs and organic production and handling.
United States Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue SW. Policy Memo 11-13

Agricultural Marketing Service Room 2646-South Building

National Organic Program Washington, DC 20250

PM 11-13 GMOs Internal Rev02 10 31 11 Authorized Distribution: Public

Page 2 of 4

Issue: If a producer adheres to all aspects of the NOP regulations, including never utilizing 

genetically modified seeds, but a certifying agent tests and detects the presence of genetically 

modified material in the crop, is that crop's status determined to be no longer certified organic? 

Reply: Organic certification is process based. That is, certifying agents attest to the ability of 

organic operations to follow a set of production standards and practices which meet the 

requirements of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 and the NOP regulations. The NOP

regulations prohibit the use of excluded methods (i.e., “GMOs”) in organic operations. If all 

aspects of the organic production or handling process were followed correctly, then the presence 

of a detectable residue from a genetically modified organism alone does not constitute a violation 

of this regulation. This policy was established at the promulgation of the NOP Regulation in the 

Preamble to the Final Rule (FR Vol. 65, No. 246, p. 80556), December 21, 2000. The Preamble 

stated that:

As long as an organic operation has not used excluded methods and takes 

reasonable steps to avoid contact with the products of excluded methods as 

detailed in their approved organic system plan, the unintentional presence of 

the products of excluded methods should not affect the status of the organic 

operation or its organic products.

Issue: Is the inadvertent presence of GMOs in organic seeds a violation of the NOP 

regulations? Can organic producers use seeds that contain the inadvertent presence of GMOs? 

Reply: 7 CFR § 205.105 of the NOP regulations prohibits the use of GMOs as excluded methods 

in organic production and handling. The use of excluded methods, such as planting genetically 

modified seeds, would require a specific intent, and would render any product ineligible for 

organic certification. However, the inadvertent presence of GMOs in organic seeds does not 

constitute a use because there was no intent on the part of the certified operation to use excluded 

methods. The presence of detectable GMO residues alone in an organic seed does not constitute 

a violation of the NOP regulations.

Issue: How do organic producers avoid contact with GMOs?

Reply: Organic producers utilize a variety of methods to avoid contact or the unintentional 

presence of GMOs including testing seed sources for GMO presence, delayed or early planting 

to get different flowering times for organic and GMO crops, cooperative agreements with 

neighbors to avoid planting GMO crops adjacent to organic crops, cutting or mowing alfalfa 

prior to flowering, posting signs to notify neighboring farmers of the location of organic fields, 

and thorough cleaning of farm equipment that has been used in non-organic crop production. 

Issue: What are organic producers required to do in order to avoid the presence of GMOs in their 

products?
United States Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue SW. Policy Memo 11-13

Agricultural Marketing Service Room 2646-South Building

National Organic Program Washington, DC 20250

PM 11-13 GMOs Internal Rev02 10 31 11 Authorized Distribution: Public

Page 3 of 4

Reply: In order to become a certified organic operation, a producer must submit an organic 

system plan to a NOP accredited certifying agent for approval. The producer’s organic system 

plan must include a description of management practices and physical barriers established to 

prevent contact of organic crops with prohibited substances. Certifying agents evaluate the 

preventative practices and buffer zones to determine if they are adequate to avoid contact with 

GMOs. 

Issue: Could a farm's organic certification status be threatened if sufficient buffers and barriers 

are not established and inadvertent contact with GMO material occurs? 

Reply: Organic producers that implement preventive measures to avoid contact with GMOs will 

not have their certification threatened from the inadvertent presence of the products of excluded 

methods (GMOs). Crops grown on certified organic operation may be sold, labeled and 

represented as organic, even with the inadvertent presence of GMOs, provided that all organic 

requirements under 7 CFR Part 205 have been followed. 

Issue: Is there a working definition of the word "contamination" within the NOP? 

Reply: There is no definition in the NOP regulations for the word "contamination," even though 

it is mentioned frequently in the standards. The use of excluded methods in organic production 

is prohibited, as cited in 7 CFR § 205.105. 

Issue: What actions are authorized or required when organic crops or products are found to 

contain unintended or inadvertent genetically modified substances?

Reply: The inadvertent presence of genetically modified material does not affect the status of 

the certified operation and does not result in loss of organic status for the organic product, 

provided it was produced in accordance with all of the organic requirements under 7 CFR Part

205. Certifying agents are responsible for working with organic producers to identify the source 

of the inadvertent GMOs and to implement improvements to avoid contact with GMOs in the 

future.

Issue: Are organic products tested for genetically modified substances? 

Reply: Under 7 CFR § 205.670(b) certifying agents may test organic products when there is 

reason to believe that excluded methods were used in the production or handling of an organic 

agricultural product. Certifying agents may also collect and test organic products from organic 

handlers to ensure that practices are in place to prevent commingling or contamination during 

handling and processing. 

Issue: Are organic products free of GMO contaminants?

Reply: Organic standards are process based. The NOP regulations prohibit the use of

genetically modified organisms, prohibit commingling or contamination during processing and 
United States Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue SW. Policy Memo 11-13

Agricultural Marketing Service Room 2646-South Building

National Organic Program Washington, DC 20250

PM 11-13 GMOs Internal Rev02 10 31 11 Authorized Distribution: Public

Page 4 of 4

handling, and require preventative practices to avoid contact with GMOs. Organic agricultural 

products should have minimal if any GMO contaminants; however, organic food products do not 

have a zero tolerance for the presence of GMO material.

Issue: Has a tolerance level (e.g. 5%) been established for the presence of GMOs in organic 

agricultural products?

Reply: The NOP regulations do not establish GMO tolerance levels. The NOP regulations 

establish a tolerance for the presence of pesticides registered by the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) that is set at 5% of the EPA tolerance level for the specific residue 

detected. No federal agency, including EPA or USDA has established tolerance levels for the 

inadvertent presence of the products of excluded methods (GMOs). 

Issue: Processed foods sold as “organic” must contain at least 95% organic ingredients. Are 

GMOs allowed in the remaining 5% of ingredients? Likewise, processed foods sold as “made 

with organic (specified ingredients or food group(s))” must contain at least 70% organic 

ingredients. Are GMOs allowed in the remaining 30% of ingredients for these products?

Reply: The use of GMOs is prohibited in all ingredients in “organic” and “made with organic 

(specified ingredients or food groups(s)).” There is no provision within the NOP regulations that 

allows the use of excluded methods (GMOs) in ingredients or processing aids under the

“organic” or “made with organic (specified ingredients or food group(s))” label categories.