FORMAL RECOMMENDATION BY THE

NATIONAL ORGANIC STANDARDS BOARD (NOSB) 

TO THE NATIONAL ORGANIC PROGRAM (NOP) 

Date: April 29, 2010

Subject: Guidelines for the use of Inert Atmospheric Gases with Products labeled and sold 

as 100% Organic 

Chair: Daniel G. Giacomini 

 

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):

The CACC recommends that the use of inert atmospheric gases be allowed in products 

labeled and sold as 100% Organic

NOSB Vote: Motion: Joe Smillie Second: Tracy Miedema 

Board vote: Yes - 13 No- 1 Abstain- 0 Absent - 1 

Summary Rationale Supporting Recommendation (including consistency with OFPA and 

NOP):

Inert atmospheric gases are not ingredients or processing aids but serve an oxygen displacement 

function (as referenced in 21CFR 170 (3) (25) ) and are hence a packaging aid and should be 

allowed in 100% products. 

Response by the NOP:
National Organic Standards Board 

Certification, Accreditation and Compliance Committee 

Guidance Recommendation 

Guidelines for the Use of Inert Atmospheric Gases with Products labeled 

and sold as “100% Organic” 

January 25, 2010

Introduction 

Four labeling categories have been established for products intended for human 

consumption under the National Organic Program (7 CFR Part 205.301). From 

lowest to highest organic composition they are: 

• Products comprised of less than 70% organic ingredients 

• Products comprised of at least 70% organic ingredients ( “made with”) 

• Products comprised of 95% or more organic ingredients 

• Products comprised of 100% organic ingredients. 

All four categories may be produced using processing aids which are either 

removed prior to packaging or remain behind in “insignificant amounts,” and 

which do not have to be identified on the ingredient statement. (FDA regulations 

in 21 CFR Subpart F) However, under the NOP the use of such processing aids 

is restricted in the three highest categories: 

• At least 70% - must be on National List 

• 95% or more - must be on National List 

• 100% - must be all organic 

Historically, from the NOP’s inception to the present, many Accredited Certifying 

Agent (ACA)s have used the NOP Policy on Food Contact Substances to allow 

the use of “packaging aids” for both raw agricultural products; and retail 

products, which are labeled and sold as 100% Organic, containing only organic 

ingredients and that are made with organic processing aids. 

Historically, there have been two other classes used in organic processing which 

are not ingredients, but have not been considered “processing aids” either. The 

first is sanitizers whose use is required, in many cases, by FDA regulations on 

Food Safety) and allowed by the NOP and the second is what many in the 

organic industry think of as packaging aids. Packaging aids, while not legally 

defined, has generally included substances such as nitrogen or argon gas which 

can be added to the head space of a bottle of organic olive oil or in a vacuum 
packed coffee bag to prevent oxidation, and therefore rancidity1

*. The use of 

these substances or packaging aids was not seen as affecting the organic 

labeling claim that could be made by the finished retail product in which it was 

being used. 

This changed in early 2007, when certifiers were advised during ACA trainings 

that the use of these substances voided 100% organic label claims on processed 

products. As a result, a number of companies changed their packaging at 

considerable expense to reflect the downgraded organic status. 

Since that time, that interpretation has been questioned, including by NOP staff, 

which could result in a justification for a second packaging change. When 

interpretations vary in such a short period of time about issues which must be 

resolved by expenditure of time and financial resources, it is certainly an obstacle 

to commerce. 

There is clearly a need to review all relevant statutory and regulatory citations as 

well as any previous Board recommendations so that clear guidelines will be on 

record. In this way future, processors can be spared the expense of unnecessary 

changes in either packaging or product formulation, and consumer are not 

confused by the continual change in label claims. 

The 100% category has been marked by confusion since its inception by 

certifiers, consumers, producers, manufacturers, and even the national organic 

program. This category is not allowed by U.S. major trading partners the E.U. 

and Canada and the U.S. is the only jurisdiction to define it. 

Background 

There are no references to processing aids in OFPA. Potentially relevant 

statutory citations pertain to use of synthetic ingredients are found in Sec 2111 - 

HANDLING 

(a) IN GENERAL – For a handling operation to be certified under this title, 

each person on such handling operation shall not, with respect to any 

agricultural product covered by this title— 

(1) Add any synthetic ingredient during the processing or any 

postharvest handling of the product:... 

(4) Add any ingredients that are not organically produced in 

accordance with this title and the applicable organic certification 

program, unless such ingredients are included on the National List 

and represent not more than 5 percent of the weight of the total 

finished product. 

 

1 Rancidity, while not an acute food safety issue, is a food quality issue with implications for longer term 

human health. Rancidity in oils is caused by the breakdown of longer chain fatty acids into shorter and midchain fatty acids, resulting in the formation of free radicals which are considered to be carcinogenic. 
 

In NOP 205.2 Terms Defined, the following distinct definitions can be found for 

“ingredient” and “processing aid:” 

“Ingredient. Any substance used in the preparation of an agricultural product 

that is still present in the final commercial product that is consumed. 

“Processing aid. 

(1) A substance that is added to a food during the processing of such food 

but is removed in some manner from the food before it is packaged in 

its finished form; 

(2) A substance that is added to a food during processing, is converted 

into constituents normally present in the food, and does not 

significantly increase the amount of the constituents naturally found in 

the food; and 

(3) A substance that is added to a food for its technical or functional effect 

in the processing but is present in the finished food at insignificant 

levels and does not have any technical or functional effect in that food.” 

7 CFR 205.301 (f) (4) states: 

“All products labeled as “100 percent organic” or “organic” ......must not: (4) Be 

processed using processing aids not approved on the National List of Allowed 

and Prohibited Substances in subpart G of this part: Except, That, products 

labeled as 100% organic,” if processed, must be processed using organically 

produced processing aids; 

The definition of “processing aid” in the Rule is taken verbatim from the FDA 

definition found in 21 CFR Subpart F, below: 

21 CFR Subpart F- Exemptions from Food Labeling Requirements 

comprehensively describes those things which do not need not appear on a 

product ingredient statement. Section 100.101 (a) (3) (i) and (ii). 

§ 101.100 – Food; exemptions from labeling. 

(a) the following foods are exempt from compliance with the requirements of 

section 403(i) (2) of the act (requiring a declaration on the label of the common or 

usual name of each ingredient when food is fabricated from two or more 

ingredients).......(3) incidental additives that are present in a food at insignificant 

levels and do not have any technical or functional effect in that food. For the 

purpose of this paragraph (a) (3), incidental additives are:..... 

(ii) Processing aids, which are as follows: 

(a) Substances that are added to a food during the processing of such 

food but are removed in some manner from the food before it is 

packaged in its finished form. 
(b) Substances that are added to food during processing, are converted 

into constituents 

i. normally present in the food, and do not significantly increase 

the amount of those 

ii. constituents naturally found in the food. 

(c) Substances that are added to a food for their functional effect in the 

processing 

iii. But are present in the finished food at insignificant levels and do 

not have any technical or functional effect in that food. 

(iii) Substances migrating to food from equipment or packaging or 

otherwise affecting food that are not food additives as defined in 

section 201 (s) of the act; or if they are food additives as so 

defined, they are used in conformity with regulations pursuant to 

section 409 of the act. (“Food and Drugs Sub Chapter B-Food 

for Human Consumption”) 

(See Appendix 1 Below ) 

The FDA distinguishes a processing aid from a packaging material such as an 

inert atmospheric gas. However, it does not clearly distinguish categories and 

FDA’s GRAS Notifications are not consistent with FDA’s “EAFUS” ( Everything 

Added to Food in the US ) listings. For instance, EAFUS includes listings for 

Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogen, but not Argon. On the other hand, GRAS includes 

listings for Argon, but not Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogen. 

Discussion

This document focuses on the use of inert atmospheric gases as a packaging aid 

in organic processed products. The purpose of this narrow focus is to address a 

discrete problem that was created for food manufacturers when an interpretation 

was given by the NOP that disallowed the 100% claim on products that utilized 

inert atmospheric gases in organic product. The CACC acknowledges that 

several other issues were raised during the consideration of inert atmospheric 

gases. For example, discussion of inert gases led quickly to the subject of Food 

contact Substances. This discussion document will not address the broader issue 

of Food Contact Substances. Neither is it the intent of the CACC to examine 

post-harvest handling practices. We recognize the importance of these issues 

however it is not the intention of the CACC to resolve them within the framework 

of this recommendation. 

Please note that it is the CACC’s intent that this recommendation allows only for 

the use of gases that are both inert AND atmospheric. During the course of our 

deliberations the CACC discovered that it was not sufficient to refer simply to 

“atmospheric” gases, because some atmospheric gases are not inert. We did not 

want to allow the use of a substance in packaging that could react with the 
organic product it contained. On the other hand we were concerned that relying 

on the phrase “inert gases” to define the category, would extend use to materials 

beyond those occur naturally in the earth’s atmosphere. 

The definition of “processing aid” found in 7 CFR Part 205 is taken directly from 

the FDA definition of “processing aid,” which, in turn, makes a clear distinction 

between “processing aids” and substances such as some specific atmospheric 

gases which have no functional effect in the food or the processing of that food, 

but merely modify the environment in which the food is packaged. The Organic 

Rule – 7 CFR Part 205, by including separate definitions for “processing aid” and 

“ingredient” allows that not everything in a package labeled and sold as “organic” 

is an ingredient. In further discussions at the NOSB meeting of April 26-29 it was 

determined that the term “ packaging aid” was not as clear in the CFR as is the 

term “oxygen displacement”. The FDA defines the technical functional effect of 

oxygen displacement under 21 CFR 170(3)(25) whereas the technical functional 

effect of a processing aid is described under 21 CFR 170(3)(24). This reference 

is further support for the committee recommendation.In addition the CACC reaffirms the restrictions on the use of processing aids in the “Made With”, 

“Organic” and “100% Organic” labeling categories. 

Recommendation 

The CACC is recommending that the use of inert atmospheric gases can be 

allowed in the 100% Organic labeling claim. 

Moved: Joe Smillie Second: Barry Flamm 

Committee vote: 4 Yes 0 No 0 Abstain 1 Absent 
APPENDIX 1 

FDA definition from the Food Code, http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/fc01-1.htm 

U. S. Department of Health and Human Services 

Public Health Service 

Food and Drug Administration 

2001 Food Code (Updated April 2004*) 

Supplement to the 2001 Food Code 

Title 

1-101.10 Food Code. 

These provisions shall be known as the Food Code, hereinafter referred to as 

"this Code." 

Intent 

1-102.10 Food Safety, Illness Prevention, and Honest Presentation. 

The purpose of this Code is to safeguard public health and provide to 

CONSUMERS FOOD that is 

safe, unADULTERATED, and honestly presented. 

Scope 

1-103.10 Statement. 

This Code establishes definitions; sets standards for management and 

personnel, FOOD operations, 

and EQUIPMENT and facilities; and provides for FOOD ESTABLISHMENT plan 

review, PERMIT 

issuance, inspection, EMPLOYEE RESTRICTION, and PERMIT suspension. 

Applicability and Terms Defined 

1-201.10 Statement of Application and Listing of Terms. 

 (A) The following definitions apply in the interpretation and application of this 

Code. 

 (B) Terms Defined. 

(71) Reduced Oxygen Packaging. 

 (a) "Reduced oxygen packaging" means: 

 (i) The reduction of the amount of oxygen in a PACKAGE by removing oxygen; 

displacing oxygen and replacing it with another gas or combination of gases; 

or otherwise controlling the oxygen content to a level below that normally 

found in the surrounding, 21% oxygen atmosphere, and 

 (ii) A process as specified in Subparagraph (a)(1) of this definition that involves 

a FOOD for which Clostridium botulinum is identified as a microbiological 

HAZARD in the final PACKAGED form. 

 (b) "Reduced oxygen packaging" includes: 

 (i) Vacuum PACKAGING, in which air is removed from a PACKAGE of FOOD 

and the package is HERMETICALLY SEALED so that a vacuum remains 

inside the PACKAGE, such as sous vide; 
 (ii) Modified atmosphere PACKAGING, in which the atmosphere of a 

PACKAGE of FOOD is modified so that its composition is different from air but 

the atmosphere may change over time due to the permeability of the 

PACKAGING material or the respiration of the FOOD. Modified atmosphere 

PACKAGING includes: reduction in the proportion of oxygen, total 

replacement of oxygen, or an increase in the proportion of other gases such as 

carbon dioxide or nitrogen; and 

 (iii) Controlled atmosphere PACKAGING, in which the atmosphere of a 

PACKAGE of FOOD is modified so that until the PACKAGE is opened, its 

composition is different from air, and continuous control of that atmosphere is 

maintained, such as by using oxygen scavengers or a combination of total 

replacement of oxygen, nonrespiring food, and impermeable packaging 

material. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Regulations - Title 21 part 170.3 defines a food contact substance as, “any 

substance that is intended for use as a component of materials used in 

manufacturing, packing, packaging, transporting, or holding food if such use is 

not intended to have any technical effect in such food”. A processing aid is any 

substance used to enhance the appeal or utility of a food or food component, 

including clarifying agents, clouding agents, catalysts, flocculents, filter aids, and 

crystallization inhibitors, etc. 

§ 170.39 Threshold of regulation for substances used in food-contact 

articles. 

(a) A substance used in a food-contact article (e.g., food-packaging or foodprocessing equipment) that migrates, or that may be expected to migrate, 

into food will be exempted from regulation as a food additive because it 

becomes a component of food at levels that are below the threshold of 

regulation if: 

(1) The substance has not been shown to be a carcinogen in humans or 

animals, and there is no reason, based on the chemical structure of the 

substance, to suspect that the substance is a carcinogen. The 

substance must also not contain a carcinogenic impurity or, if it does, 

must not contain a carcinogenic impurity with a TD50value based on 

chronic feeding studies reported in the scientific literature or otherwise 

available to the Food and Drug Administration of less than 6.25 

milligrams per kilogram bodyweight per day (The TD50, for the 

purposes of this section, is the feeding dose that causes cancer in 50 

percent of the test animals when corrected for tumors found in control 

animals. If more than one TD50value has been reported in the 

scientific literature for a substance, the Food and Drug Administration 

will use the lowest appropriate TD50 value in its review.); 

(2) The substance presents no other health or safety concerns because: 

i. The use in question has been shown to result in or may be 

expected to result in dietary concentrations at or below 0.5 parts 

per billion, corresponding to dietary exposure levels at or below 1.5 
micrograms/person/day (based on a diet of 1,500 grams of solid 

food and 1,500 grams of liquid food per person per day); or 

ii. The substance is currently regulated for direct addition into food, 

and the dietary exposure to the substance resulting from the 

proposed use is at or below 1 percent of the acceptable daily intake 

as determined by safety data in the Food and Drug Administration's 

files or from other appropriate sources; 

(3) The substance has no technical effect in or on the food to which it 

migrates; and 

(4) The substance use has no significant adverse impact on the 

environment. 

§ 174.5 General provisions applicable to indirect food additives. 

(a) Regulations prescribing conditions under which food additive substances 

may be safely used predicate usage under conditions of good 

manufacturing practice. For the purpose of this part and parts 175, 176, 

and 177 of this chapter, good manufacturing practice shall be defined to 

include the following restrictions: 

(1) The quantity of any food additive substance that may be added to food 

as a result of use in articles that contact food shall not exceed, where 

no limits are specified, that which results from use of the substance in 

an amount not more than reasonably required to accomplish the 

intended physical or technical effect in the food-contact article; shall 

not exceed any prescribed limitations; and shall not be intended to 

accomplish any physical or technical effect in the food itself, except as 

such may be permitted by regulations in parts 170 through 189 of this 

chapter. 

(2) Any substance used as a component of articles that contact food shall 

be of a purity suitable for its intended use. 

(b) The existence in the subchapter B of a regulation prescribing safe 

conditions for the use of a substance as an article or component of articles 

that contact food shall not be construed to relieve such use of the 

substance or article from compliance with any other provision of the 

Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. For example, if a regulated foodpackaging material were found on appropriate test to impart odor or taste 

to a specific food product such as to render it unfit within the meaning of 

section 402(a)(3) of the Act, the regulation would not be construed to 

relieve such use from compliance with section 402(a)(3). 

(c) The existence in this subchapter B of a regulation prescribing safe 

conditions for the use of a substance as an article or component of articles 

that contact food shall not be construed as implying that such substance 

may be safely used as a direct additive in food. 

(d) Substances that under conditions of good manufacturing practice may be 

safely used as components of articles that contact food include the 

following, subject to any prescribed limitations: 

(1) Substances generally recognized as safe in or on food. 
(2) Substances generally recognized as safe for their intended use in food 

packaging. 

(3) Substances used in accordance with a prior sanction or approval. 

(4) Substances permitted for use by regulations in this part and parts 175, 

176, 177, 178 and §179.45 of this chapter. 

(5) Food contact substances used in accordance with an effective 

premarket notification for a food contact substance (FCN) submitted 

under section 409(h) of the act. [42 FR 14534, Mar. 15, 1977, as 

amended at 67 FR 35731, May 21, 2002] 

§ 174.6 Threshold of regulation for substances used in food-contact 

articles. 

Substances used in food-contact articles (e.g., food-packaging or foodprocessing equipment) that migrate, or that may be expected to migrate, into 

food at negligible levels may be reviewed under §170.39 of this chapter. The 

Food and Drug Administration will exempt substances whose uses it determines 

meet the criteria in §170.39 of this chapter from regulation as food additives and, 

therefore, a food additive petition will not be required for the exempted use. 

[60 FR 36596, July 17, 1995] 

PART 184—DIRECT FOOD SUBSTANCES AFFIRMED AS GENERALLY 

RECOGNIZED AS SAFE 

Subpart B—Listing of Specific Substances Affirmed as GRAS 

§ 184.1540 Nitrogen 

 § 184.1540 Nitrogen.: (a) Nitrogen (empirical formula N2, CAS Reg. No. 7727–

37&ndas 

 § 184.1540 Nitrogen.: (a) Nitrogen (empirical formula N2, CAS Reg. No. 7727–

37–9) is a colorless, odorless gas 

(a) Nitrogen (empirical formula N2, CAS Reg. No. 7727–37–9) is a colorless, 

odorless, flavorless gas that is produced commercially by the fractionation 

of liquid air. 

(b) The ingredient must be of a purity suitable for its intended use. 

(c) In accordance with §184.1(b)(1), the ingredient is used in food with no 

limitations other than current good manufacturing practice. The affirmation 

of this ingredient as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) as a direct 

human food ingredient is based upon the following current good 

manufacturing practice conditions of use: 

(1) The ingredient is used as a propellant, aerating agent, and gas as 

defined in §170.3(o)(25) of this chapter. 

(2) The ingredient is used in food at levels not to exceed current good 

manufacturing practice. 

(d) Prior sanctions for this ingredient different from the uses established in 

this section do not exist or have been waived. 

[48 FR 57270, Dec. 29, 1983, as amended at 73 FR 8607, Feb. 14, 2008] 
§ 570.3 Definitions - (e) Food additives includes all substances not exempted by 

section 201(s) of the act, the intended use of which results or may reasonably be 

expected to result, directly or indirectly, either in their becoming a component of 

food or otherwise affecting the characteristics of food. A material used in the 

production of containers and packages is subject to the definition if it 

may reasonably be expected to become a component, or to affect the 

characteristics, directly or indirectly, of food packed in the container. Affecting the 

characteristics of food does not include such physical effects, as protecting 

contents of packages, preserving shape, and preventing moisture loss. If 

there is no migration of a packaging component from the package to the food, it 

does not become a component of the food and thus is not a food additive. A 

substance that does not become a component of food, but that is used, for 

example, in preparing an ingredient of the food to give a different flavor, 

texture, or other characteristic in the food, may be a food additive.