§6517 National List

Summary

The Secretary must make a National List of substances that can or cannot be used for products labeled organic. The list must name each allowed synthetic and each banned natural substance and say how each is used. A synthetic can be allowed only if the Secretary, after talking with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the EPA Administrator, finds it won’t harm people or the environment, is needed because no fully natural substitute exists, and fits organic practices. Allowed synthetics are limited to certain categories (for example, copper and sulfur compounds, bacterial toxins, pheromones, soaps and oils, fish emulsions, treated seed, vitamins and minerals, certain animal medicines, and production aids) or to inert ingredients that EPA has not labeled as toxic. The list must come from proposals by the National Organic Standards Board. The Secretary cannot add synthetic exemptions that the Board did not propose. The Secretary must publish draft lists or changes in the Federal Register, get public comments, then publish the final list with a response to comments. The Secretary can set up emergency rules to add commercially unavailable organic products for up to 12 months. Any allowed or banned item must be reviewed by the Board within 5 years and renewed by the Secretary to stay valid.