Proposed National Organic Rules

The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued its proposed National Organic Program rule on December 16,1997. The Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 provided authority for this proposed rule. It was developed from recommendations of the National Organic Standards Board, an advisory board appointed by Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman, and in cooperation with the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The deadline for submission of public comments regarding the USDA's proposed national organic foods production standards has been extended to on or before April 30, 1998.

Persons submitting written or faxed comments are requested to identify the topic and section number, if applicable, to which the comment refers: For example, for a comment regarding feed for organic livestock, reference Livestock and Section 205.13. Topics should be selected from the following list: General, Proposed Effective Date, Regulatory Impact Assessment, Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, Paperwork Reduction Act, Definitions, Applicability (Section 205.3), Crops, Livestock, Handling, National List, Labeling, Certification, Accreditation, State Programs, Fees, Compliance Appeals, and Equivalency.

It is the intention of the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service to have all comments available for viewing on the National Organic Program homepage at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop in a timely manner.

Comments may be sent to the same Web site, and may be mailed to:

Eileen S. Stommes, deputy administrator
USDA-AMS-TM-NOP
Docket # TMD-94-00-2
Room 4007-S, AgStop 0275
PO Box 96456
Washington, D.C. 20090-6456

or faxed to:

USDA-National Organic Standards
Docket # TMD-94-00-2
(202) 690-4632