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4. PROCESSED ORGANIC FOODS: A CONTRADICTION IN TERMS?

    A great deal of confusion surrounds handling and processing within the OFPA. Careful and repeated efforts to resolve this confusion resulted in the following determinations and interpretations:

1. A "handler" ("processor") receives, acquires, processes, packages or stores organically produced goods.92
2. Certified handlers are strictly prohibited from adding any synthetic ingredients to organically produced goods.93
3. Certified handlers are strictly forbidden from adding any ingredient known to contain levels of nitrates, heavy metals or toxic residues in excess of those permitted by the certification program.94
4. Certified handlers are prohibited from adding sulfites, nitrates, or nitrites.95
5. Certified handlers must not add any non-organically produced ingredients, unless these are included on the National List and represent less than five percent of the final product’s weight (excluding water and salt).96

The OFPA also lists clear requirements for packaging, containers and water quality.97

    It is apparent that a component of the National List could include a compilation of non-organically grown minor ingredients that are extremely difficult or impossible to obtain as organically grown, but not synthetic ingredients.
    A Senate report of the act makes it clear that this list was not intended simply to contain "scarce" or "expensive" organically grown foods, but that certain items were virtually not available.98 They must also be necessary in the sense that alternative recipes or ingredients were not possible. This would appear to be an extremely rare circumstance indeed. Only one imported spice that can probably be grown in the United States comes to mind.99 The idea that yeast qualifies is debunked in the next section on livestock.

    92.    7 U.S.C. § 6505(a)(1)(A) (Supp. V 1993).
    93.    7 U.S.C. § 6510(a)(1) (Supp. V 1993).
    94.    7 U.S.C. § 6510(a)(2) (Supp. V 1993).
    95.    7 U.S.C. § 6510(a)(3) (Supp. V 1993).
    96.    7 U.S.C. § 6510(a)(4) (Supp. V 1993).
    97.    7 U.S.C. § 6510(a)(5), (6) & (7) (Supp. V 1993).
    98.    S. REP. NO. 357, 101^st Cong., 2d Sess. 289, 299 (1990).
    99.    This spice is black pepper.

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