[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 66 (Friday, April 4, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18491-18492]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 08-1097]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

[Doc. No. AMS-TM-08-0021; TM-08-04]


Notice of Meeting of the National Organic Standards Board

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 
amended, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is announcing a 
forthcoming meeting of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB).

DATES: The meeting dates are Tuesday, May 20, 2008, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; 
Wednesday, May 21, 2008, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Thursday, May 22, 2008, 
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Requests from individuals and organizations wishing to 
make oral presentations at the meeting are due by the close of business 
on May 5, 2008.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place at The Holiday Inn Inner Harbor 
Hotel, 301 W. Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201.
    <bullet> Requests for copies of the NOSB meeting agenda, may be 
sent to Ms. Valerie Frances, Executive Director, NOSB, USDA-AMS-TMP-
NOP, 1400 Independence Ave., SW., Room 4008-So., Ag Stop 0268, 
Washington, DC 20250-0268. The NOSB meeting agenda and proposed 
recommendations may also be viewed at http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop.
    <bullet> Comments on proposed NOSB recommendations may be submitted 
by May 5, 2008 in writing to Ms. Frances at either the postal address 
above or via the internet at http://www.regulations.gov only. The 
comments should identify Docket No. AMS-TM-08-0021. It is our intention 
to have all comments to this notice whether they are submitted by mail 
or the internet available for viewing on the http://www.regulations.gov 
Web site.
    <bullet> Requests to make an oral presentation at the meeting may 
also be sent by May 5, 2008 to Ms. Valerie Frances at the postal 
address above, by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2157404d445348440f4753404f42445261545245400f464e57"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="82f4e3eee7f0ebe7ace4f0e3ece1e7f1c2f7f1e6e3ace5edf4">[email protected]</span></a>, via facsimile at 
(202) 205-7808, or phone at (202) 720-3252.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Valerie Frances, Executive Director, 
NOSB, National Organic Program (NOP), (202) 720-3252, or visit the NOP 
Web site at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 2119 (7 U.S.C. 6518) of the Organic 
Foods Production Act of 1990 (OFPA), as amended (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.) 
requires the establishment of the NOSB. The purpose of the NOSB is to 
make recommendations about whether a substance should be allowed or 
prohibited in organic production or handling, to assist in the 
development of standards for substances to be used in organic 
production, and to advise the Secretary on other aspects of the 
implementation of the OFPA. The NOSB met for the first time in 
Washington, DC, in March 1992, and currently has six subcommittees 
working on various aspects of the organic program. The committees are: 
Compliance, Accreditation, and Certification; Crops; Handling; 
Livestock; Materials; and Policy Development.
    In August of 1994, the NOSB provided its initial recommendations 
for the NOP to the Secretary of Agriculture. Since that time, the NOSB 
has submitted 154 addenda to its recommendations and reviewed more than 
327 substances for inclusion on the National List of Allowed and 
Prohibited Substances. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) published 
its final National Organic Program regulation in the Federal Register 
on December 21, 2000, (65 FR 80548). The rule became effective April 
21, 2001.
    In addition, the OFPA authorizes the National List of Allowed and 
Prohibited Substances and provides that no allowed or prohibited 
substance would remain on the National List for a period exceeding 5 
years unless the exemption or prohibition is reviewed and recommended 
for renewal by the NOSB and adopted by the Secretary of Agriculture. 
This expiration is commonly referred to as sunset of the National List. 
The National List appears at 7 CFR Part 205, Subpart G.
    The principal purposes of the NOSB meeting are to provide an 
opportunity for the NOSB to receive an update from the USDA/NOP and 
hear progress reports from NOSB committees regarding work plan items 
and proposed action items. The last meeting of the NOSB was held on 
November 28-30, 2007 in Arlington, VA.
    At its last meeting, the Board recommended the addition of 3 
materials to the National List Sec.  205.601 for use in crops and Sec.  
205.605 for use in handling. In addition, the Board also nearly 
completed the sunset review process for 11 of the 13 materials for use 
in crops and handling which are due to expire on November 3, 2008 and 
November 4, 2008. Of these 11 materials, there are 9 substances for use 
in crops and handling placed on the National List on November 3, 2003, 
and

[[Page 18492]]

are scheduled to expire on November 3, 2008. Four substances for use in 
handling were placed on the National List on November 4, 2003, and are 
scheduled to expire on November 4, 2008. They will be making final 
recommendations on these 11 materials at this meeting. Two forms of 
Tartaric acid, for use in handling in Sec.  205.605(a) and (b) for 
which the Board has not completed its review, were placed on the 
National List on November 3, 2003, and are scheduled to expire on 
November 3, 2008. The sunset review process for these two forms of 
Tartaric acid must be concluded no later than November 3, 2008. If 
renewal is not concluded by this date, the use or prohibition of these 
2 forms of Tartaric acid will no longer be in compliance with the 
National Organic Program.
    The Policy Development Committee will present recommendations 
regarding revisions to the NOSB Policy and Procedures Manual and the 
Guide for new NOSB members as well as discuss their on-going 
collaboration with the NOP to review the NOP responses to prior NOSB 
recommendations.
    The Compliance, Accreditation, and Certification Committee and the 
Crops Committee will jointly present their recommendation offering 
guidance for accredited certifying agents regarding annual commercial 
availability determinations for organic seed sourcing by farmers under 
Sec.  205.204.
    The Crops Committee will present recommendations on the materials 
Tetracycline, Cheesewax, Dextrin, and Sorbitol octanoate petitioned for 
use on Sec.  205.601. The Committee will also present their 
recommendations on the continued use or prohibition of Copper sulfate, 
Ozone gas, Peracetic acid, and EPA List 3--Inerts of unknown toxicity, 
with their respective annotations and limitations. These exemptions are 
due to expire on November 3, 2008, from Sec.  205.601. The Committee 
will also present their recommendation on the continued use or 
prohibition of Calcium chloride for use as a brine-sourced foliar 
spray. Calcium chloride is otherwise considered a prohibited natural 
substance in Sec.  205.602 and is also due to expire on November 3, 
2008.
    The Crops Committee and the Livestock Committee will jointly 
present their recommendation on the development of standards for 
organic aquatic plants in organic aquaculture.
    The Livestock Committee will present its recommendation on the 
material Fenbendazole petitioned for use in Sec.  205.603. The 
Committee will present its recommendations on the petition to remove 
the expiration date of October 21, 2008 on the following three 
substances: DL-Methionine, DL-Methionine-Hydroxy Analog; and DL-
Methionine-Hydroxy Analog Calcium--for use only in organic poultry 
production in Sec.  205.603. The Committee will also present 
recommendations on the use of fish feed and open net pens in regards to 
the development of organic aquaculture standards for finfish.
    The Handling Committee will present their recommendations on the 
materials Sodium chlorite, acidified and Calcium, derived from seaweed 
petitioned for inclusion in Sec.  205.605 for use in organic products. 
The Committee will present their recommendations on the 24 materials 
Black Pepper, Buck Hull Powder, Camu Camu Extract, Caramel Color, 
Chinese Thistle Daisy Extract, Chlorella algae, Codonopsis Root 
Extract, Dumontiacae algae, Ginger Root Extract, Jujube Fruit Extract, 
Kombu seaweed, Ligusticum Root Extract, Marsala Cooking Wine, Oatbran, 
Okra, Pectin, low methoxy, non-amidated, Peony Root Extract, Polygala 
Root Extract, Polygonum Root Extract, Poria Fungus Extract, Rehmannia 
Extract, Sherry Cooking Wine, Tangerine Peel Extract, and Tragacanth 
Gum petitioned for inclusion in Sec.  205.606 for use in organic 
products depending on final commercial availability determinations 
performed by accredited certifying agents.
    The Handling Committee will present their recommendations on the 
continued use or prohibition of the material exemptions in Sec.  
205.605(a) which is Agar-agar and due to expire on November 3, 2008, 
and Animal enzymes, Calcium sulfate, and Glucono delta-lactone, with 
their respective annotations and limitations, due to expire on November 
4, 2008. The Committee will also present their recommendations on the 
continued use or prohibition of the material exemption in Sec.  
205.605(b) which is Cellulose with its respective annotations and 
limitations, due to expire on November 4, 2008. They will also present 
their recommendations on the continued use or prohibition of the 
material exemptions for the two forms of Tartaric acid in Sec.  
205.605(a) and (b) which are due to expire on November 3, 2008.
    The Meeting is Open to the Public. The NOSB has scheduled time for 
public input for Tuesday, May 20, 2008, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., 
Wednesday, May 21, 2008, from 3:45 p.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursday, May 
22, 2008, from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Individuals and organizations 
wishing to make oral presentations at the meeting may forward their 
requests by mail, facsimile, email, or phone to Valerie Frances as 
listed in ADDRESSES above. Individuals or organizations will be given 
approximately 5 minutes to present their views. All persons making oral 
presentations are requested to provide their comments in writing. 
Written submissions may contain information other than that presented 
at the oral presentation. Anyone may submit written comments at the 
meeting. Persons submitting written comments are asked to provide 30 
copies.
    Interested persons may visit the NOSB portion of the NOP Web site 
at http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop to view available meeting documents 
prior to the meeting, or visit http://www.regulations.gov to submit and 
view comments as provided for in ADDRESSES above. Documents presented 
at the meeting will be posted for review on the NOP Web site 
approximately 6 weeks following the meeting.

    Dated: April 1, 2008.
Lloyd C. Day,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 08-1097 Filed 4-1-08; 4:21pm]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P


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