DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 205

[Docket Number: TMD-00-02-FR]

RIN: 0581-AA40

National Organic Program

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final Rule with request for comments. 

SUMMARY: This final rule establishes the National Organic Program (NOP or program) 

under the direction of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), an arm of the United States 

Department of Agriculture (USDA). This national program will facilitate domestic and 

international marketing of fresh and processed food that is organically produced and assure 

consumers that such products meet consistent, uniform standards. This program establishes 

national standards for the production and handling of organically produced products, 

including a National List of substances approved for and prohibited from use in organic 

production and handling. This final rule establishes a national-level accreditation program to 

be administered by AMS for State officials and private persons who want to be accredited as

certifying agents. Under the program, certifying agents will certify production and handling 

operations in compliance with the requirements of this regulation and initiate compliance 

actions to enforce program requirements. The final rule includes requirements for labeling 

products as organic and containing organic ingredients. This final rule also provides for 

importation of organic agricultural products from foreign programs determined to have 

equivalent organic program requirements. This program is authorized under the Organic 

Foods Production Act of 1990, as amended. 

EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule becomes effective [60 days after publication in the Federal 

Register]. 

Comments: Comments on specified aspects of the final regulations must be submitted on or 

before [90 days after publication in the Federal Register]. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on specified 

aspects of the final regulation to: Keith Jones, Program Manager, National Organic Program, 

USDA-AMS-TMP-NOP, Room 2945-So., Ag Stop 0275, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC 

20090-6456. Comments may also be filed via the Internet through the National Organic 

Program's homepage at: www.ams.usda.gov/nop. Written comments on specified aspects of 

the final regulations should be identified with the docket number TMD-00-02-FR. To facilitate 

the timely scanning and posting of comments to the NOP homepage, multiple-page 

comments submitted by regular mail should not be stapled or clipped. 

It is our intention to have all comments to this final rule, whether mailed or submitted via the 

Internet, available for viewing on the NOP homepage in a timely manner. Comments 

submitted in response to this final rule will be available for viewing at USDA-AMS, 
Transportation and Marketing Programs, Room 2945-South Building, 14th and Independence 

Avenue, SW, Washington, DC, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 

p.m., Monday through Friday (except for official Federal holidays). Persons wanting to visit 

the USDA South Building to view comments received in response to this final rule are 

requested to make an appointment in advance by calling (202) 720-3252. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Mathews, Senior Agricultural 

Marketing Specialist, USDA-AMS-TMP-NOP, Room 2510-So., P.O. Box 96456, Washington, 

DC 20090-6456; Telephone: (202) 205-7806; Fax: (202) 205-7808. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Prior Documents in this Proceeding

This final rule is issued pursuant to the Organic Food Production Act of 1990 (Act or 

OFPA), as amended (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.). This final rule replaces the proposed rule 

published in the Federal Register March 13, 2000. The public submitted 40,774 comments 

on the proposed rule. Comments to the proposed rule were considered in the preparation of 

this final rule. 

The following notices related to the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) and the 

development of this proposed regulation have been published in the Federal Register. Six 

notices of nominations for membership on the NOSB were published between April 1991 and 

June 2000 (56 FR 15323, 59 FR 43807, 60 FR 40153, 61 FR 33897, 64 FR 33240, 65 FR 

35317). Two notices of extension of time for submitting nominations were published on 

September 22, 1995, and September 23, 1996 (60 FR 49246, 61 FR 49725). Twenty notices 

of meetings of the NOSB were published between March 1992 and November 2000 (57 FR 

7094, 57 FR 27017, 57 FR 36974, 58 FR 85, 58 FR 105, 58 FR 171, 59 FR 58, 59 FR 

26186, 59 FR 49385, 60 FR 51980, 60 FR 15532, 61 FR 43520, 63 FR 7389, 63 FR 64451, 

64 FR 3675, 64 FR 28154, 64 FR 54858, 65 FR 11758, 65 FR 33802, 65 FR 64657). One 

notice of public hearings on organic livestock and livestock products was published on 

December 30, 1993 (58 FR 69315). Two notices specifying a procedure for submitting 

names of substances for inclusion on or removal from the National List of Approved and 

Prohibited Substances were published on March 27, 1995 (60 FR 15744), and July 13, 2000 

(65 FR 43259. A rule proposing the NOP was published on December 16, 1997 (62 FR 

65850). An extension of the time period for submitting comments to the proposed rule was 

published on February 9, 1998 (63 FR 6498). One request for comments on Issue Papers 

was published on October 28, 1998 (63 FR 57624). A notice of a program to assess organic 

certifying agencies was published on June 9, 1999 (64 FR 30861). A rule proposing the NOP 

was published on March 13, 2000 (65 FR 13512). A notice of public meeting and request for 

comments on organic production and handling of aquatic animals to be labeled as organic 

was published on March 23, 2000 (65 FR 15579). One advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking and request for comments on reasonable security for private certifying agents 

was published on August 9, 2000 (65 FR 48642). 

This preamble includes a discussion of the final rule and supplementary information, 

including the Regulatory Impact Assessment, Unfunded Mandates Reform Act Statement, 

Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis, Federalism Impact Statement, and Civil Justice Impact 

Statement. The Civil Rights Impact Analysis is not included as an attachment but may be 

obtained by writing to the address provided above or via the Internet through the National 

Organic Program's homepage at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop. 
Approval of Paperwork Reduction Act Requirements for this Final Rule

The reporting requirements and recordkeeping burden imposed by this rule were published in

the March 13, 2000, Federal Register for public comment. The Agency addressed these 

comments in the final rule to ensure that the least amount of the burden is placed on the 

public. The information collection and recordkeeping requirements have been reviewed and 

approved by the Office of Management and Budget under OMB Number 0581-0191, National 

Organic Program.