The detailed agenda won’t be available under sometime after Labor Day, but the National Organic Standards Board Is scheduled to meet Oct. 24-26 at the InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront Hotel in St. Paul. MN. The federal advisory group typically meets twice a year.
The meetings are open to the public, and no registration is required, except to sign up for oral comments. The board meetings are not webcast, but webcasts are used to collect comment ahead of time.
The board advises the National Organic Program, a unit of USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), on additions and subtractions of substances on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances for organics. The board is reviewing substances scheduled to sunset from the National List in 2020, guidance on organic policies that can include food safety topics.
Americans spend nearly $50 billion in organic purchases annually. In 2017, certified organic operations accounted for seven percent of production in the United States (26,400 operations) and 11-percent across the globe (41,000 operations).
During meetings, the 13-member NOSB listens to public comments, discusses agenda items, and then votes in a public forum. Detailed meeting information, including agendas, locations, proposals, and public comments will be posted below as it becomes available. For information on previous meetings, visit the NOSB meetings page.
The NOSB invites the public to submit written comments and/or provide oral comments at the Fall 2018 meeting in St. Paul. The comment period will close on Oct. 4, 2018. Please note: In order to be considered during the Fall 2018 meeting, written public comments or requests for oral comment speaking slots must be received by 11:59 p.m. Oct. 4, 2018.
Feedback on the NOSB Subcommittees’ proposals should be made at Regulations.gov.
Oral Comments
Oral comment registration will open when the NOSB proposals are posted in early September.
The Board will hear oral comments during the following times:
- Webinars: October 16 and 18, 2018, from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Eastern (3 minute comment slot)
- In-person meeting: Wednesday, October 24, 2018 (3 minute comment slot)
If you would like to listen to the webinars on October 16 & 18, 2018, from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Eastern, you can access them as follows:
Dial In by Phone:
- Toll-Free (U.S. & Canada): 866-740-1260
- Access Code: 7202000
Optional: Listen in on Web
- Meeting URL: http://www.readytalk.com
- Click the green button in upper right to “join meeting”
- On the left side of the screen, enter Access Code 7202000, and click green button to “join meeting”. Enter your name into the participant registration box.
The system can accommodate up to 150 callers; after that limit is reached, callers may be told that the call capacity has been exceeded. Transcripts of the call(s) will be available after the in person meeting concludes.
Email Michelle Arsenault, NOSB Advisory Committee Specialist with questions or call 202-720-0081.
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