The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) National Organic Program (NOP) is pleased to inform that that following final guidance was announced today in the Federal Register: Classification of Materials and Materials for Organic Crop Production.
As a result of the unique construction of the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (National List), certifiers and growers sometimes have questions about which non-synthetic or natural substances are allowed and which synthetic substances are prohibited. Therefore, to clarify practices used to classify materials, the NOP published in the Federal Register today the following final guidance:
Classification of Materials (NOP 5033)
This guidance clarifies existing practices used to classify materials as synthetic or non-synthetic and as agricultural or nonagricultural.
Materials for Organic Crop Production (NOP 5034)
This guidance helps organic producers to understand which input materials are allowed in organic crop production, and provides a list of materials that are specifically prohibited in organic crop production.
The final guidance will be used by certified operations, accredited certifying agents, material evaluation programs, and other stakeholders, including producers interested in transitioning to organic production. The guidance will reduce barriers associated with understanding the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances.
The final guidance are available in the NOP Handbook.
