Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
Notice.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service is publishing this notice pursuant to a June 9, 2005, consent final judgment and order issued by the United States District Court, District of Maine, in the case
Keith Jones, Director, Program Development, National Organic Program, 1400 Independence Ave., SW., Room 4008–S, Ag Stop 0268, Washington, DC 20250–0268; Telephone: (202) 720–3252; Fax: (202) 205–7808; e-mail:
This notice is issued under the authority of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (OFPA) as amended (7 U.S.C. 6501
The USDA prevailed on all counts of Harvey's suit in a decision issued by the district court on January 7, 2004. On March 8, 2004, Harvey appealed the district court's decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. On January 26, 2005, the First Circuit issued a decision in the case. The First Circuit court upheld the NOP rule in general, but remanded the case to the U.S. District Court, District of Maine, for, among other things, the entry of a declaratory judgment that 7
The First Circuit's decision recognized that some producers, handlers and certifiers may have misinterpreted 7 CFR 205.606 to mean that any nonorganic agricultural product which was determined by an accredited certifying agent to be not commercially available in organic form could be used in organic products, without being individually listed pursuant to the National List procedures. The court held that such an interpretation is contrary to the plain meaning of OFPA. However, because of the potential for confusion, and to enable an orderly transition to compliance with the regulation, the district court's order regarding the meaning of 7 CFR 205.606 shall become effective and enforceable two years (June 9, 2007) from the date of its judgment and order.