Hawaii Organic Farmers Association

On April 29, 2002 the USDA took a major step toward full implementation of the Federal Organic Rule enacted in December 2000. The National Organic Program (NOP) of the USDA announced that 42 of the 97 organic certifier applicants had received federal accreditation. Fortunately for Hawaii’s organic farmers, ranchers, and processors, HOFA was among the first round of organic certifying agencies announced as federally accredited.

Benefits of accreditation

Federal accreditation means products certified by HOFA will be accepted nationally and internationally as meeting the uniform and stringent federal organic production standards. Starting October 21, 2002, any product sold, labeled or represented as “organic” must be certified by a federally accredited certifying agency.

Aside from the reciprocity and international acceptance provided with federal accreditation, Hawaii’s organic producers greatly benefit from HOFA’s recognition as an accredited certifier. Since HOFA is locally based, with a trained and qualified pool of independent inspectors scattered across the State, it can provide certification services at a much lower cost than other mainland based organizations. Plus, with HOFA’s federally registered trademark, producers certified by HOFA benefit from being able to identify their products as ‘Hawaii Organic’. Needless to say, this is a great advantage in the marketplace.

Additional requirements

Accreditation and the Federal Organic Rule bring with them additional requirements. As a federally accredited certifier, HOFA increased its insurance coverage to extend to all personnel involved in providing certification and operational services. It was also necessary to change the organization’s By-Laws to ensure no potential conflicts of interest would occur by prohibiting HOFA-certified members from serving on the Board of Directors.

HOFA Accreditation

Under the standards defined in the Federal Organic Rule, producers must be able to document their farm management practices with a record keeping system. A common misconception among producers is that record keeping refers only to sales records. In the context of certification, record keeping refers to a tracking system or paper trail that allows an inspector or auditor to establish that all seeds, starts, fertilizers, ingredients, pest and disease controls, packing materials and cultural practices used in the organic production from the field to the store shelf comply with the federal organic standards.

A record keeping system may simply be a well-maintained farm journal with information on dates and quantities of materials applied to the production area. Those production activities need to be linked to market sales through a lot numbering system on the sales invoice. For small farms, the lot numbering system may simply be the harvest date and product name. For farms with multiple growing areas, or processors handling multiple batches, lot numbering provides additional information relating to the precise field/row location or the batch number of a processed item. HOFA provides several examples of recording keeping logs in the HOFA Handbook for Organic Certification.

Consumers role in enforcement

An accurate record keeping system is crucial to organic integrity because the consumer who purchases a product sold as “organic” should be able to have the following questions answered by the store’s personnel:

Who produced this item?

Who certified the producer?

Any retail operation that sells, labels or represents a product as “organic” without documentation that the product is currently certified by a federally accredited agency is liable for a $10,000 fine per occurrence. HOFA recommends that all consumers ask for confirmation to ensure that the product purchased at a premium price is actually produced in compliance with the stringent standards established under the Federal Organic Rule.

The reseller is responsible for documenting that every product sold as “organic” has a current Organic Certificate, so ask to see the Organic Certificate or other documentation.

Basic requirements

The federal standards prohibit the use of genetically engineered materials, ionizing irradiation, and sewage sludge. The organic standards require that a producer undergo a three-year transition from the last use of any prohibited materials until the first certifiable organic harvest. Furthermore, organic produce is held to a higher standard with regard to containing residual amounts of prohibited substances or contaminants, many of which have become commonplace in our environment and virtually unavoidable in our food chain. Products sold as organic may not contain more than 5% of the residual levels established as “safe” by the EPA for conventional pesticides such as DDTs, heptachlor, and organophosphates.

The Small Farmer Exemption

The Federal Organic Rule allows an exception to the requirement to be certified by an accredited agency and is referred to as the Small Farmer Exemption. If a producer grosses less than $5,000 annually in organic sales, the product may be labeled “organic”, if it is sold direct to retail. The Small Farmer Exemption does not apply to products that will be used as ingredients in a processed product labeled as “organic”. Also, items sold under a Small Farmer Exemption may not be represented as “certified organic” although they may be represented as “organic”. The Small Farmer Exemption requires that the producer comply with all the requirements of the Federal Organic Rule including the record keeping and labeling requirements. For those producers that meet the conditions of the Small Farmer Exemption, HOFA requires an affidavit system for use in the marketplace to document that the products are produced under the Small Farmer Exemption. A copy of the HOFA member’s notarized affidavit is kept on file at the office for third party confirmation upon request.

It’s either Organic or it’s not

With regard to labeling, simply modifying the word “organic” with qualifiers such as “claimed organic” or “bio-organic” is no longer a legal alternative. The use of the word “organic”, with or without qualifying terms, can only be used to represent products that have been duly certified by a federally accredited agency or produced under the strict requirements of the Small Farmer Exemption.

News From the President –Damian Paul

"With malice toward none, with charity for all; with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in". When Abraham Lincoln wrote those words 137 years ago he helped unite a country in war. Today, those words can help unite our attitude towards a world that still uses poisons on our food crops. Let us be a positive influence and a righteous example of what healthy, good farming practices are all about.

Through the years, HOFA has endured many trials and tribulations as a grassroots organization. We have, however, managed to persevere through it all and come out among the first accredited certifying agencies in the entire United States!

What a great vision of ours that is bearing fruit! The organic farmers who grow the crops and do all the hard work are the backbone of HOFA. All of us, though, make a significant contribution just by being a supporting member of such a positive movement. Better nutrition, healthier lives, and a clean environment will be our legacy to future generations.

A Big Mahalo to all the founding members of HOFA for having the smarts and the guts to start such a movement in Hawaii almost 9 years ago. Let us all work altogether and continue making a difference.

USDA Announces Japanese Recognition of US Organic Standards for Plant Based Agricultural Products

In March 27, 2002–The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries has officially recognized that USDA’s national organic standards for the production, handling, and processing of plant-based organic agricultural products meet the requirements of the Japanese Agricultural Standards.

This official recognition means that plant-based agricultural products from the United States that are certified as meeting U.S. organic standards may be labeled or represented in Japan as organic. This trade breakthrough will allow more U.S. producers to tap into the approximately $100- million-a-year market for organic food in Japan.

The recognition agreement does stipulate, however, that alkili-extracted humic acid, lignin sulfonate, and potassium bicarbonate, may not be used in raw or processed organic food exported to Japan. These substances are allowed under the U.S. organic standards.

USDA’s national organic standards will be fully implemented by October 21, and all producers, handlers, and processors of organic agricultural products, both foreign and domestic must meet these standards in order to label their products organic. On this date, consumers will start seeing the USDA Organic Seal on products on supermarket shelves. Further details regarding the Japanese recognition of USDA organic standards and other organic issues are available at: www.ams.usda.gov/nop.

BT Corn Linked to Hog Breeding Problems

In its April 29, 2002, edition, the Iowa Farm Bureau Spokesman contained an alarming story on sow breeding problems related to the feeding of genetically engineered Bt corn.

According to the article, farmer Jerry Rosman was alarmed when farrowing rates in his sow herd plummeted nearly 80 percent. Eventually, Rosman became aware of four other producers within a 15-mile radius of his farm whose herds had nearly identical pseudopregnancies. The herds had different management styles, different breeding methods and different swine genetics.

A common denominator, Rosman says, is that all of the operations fed their herds the same Bt corn hybrids. One of the producers subsequently switched back to regular non-Bt corn, and pseudopregnancy is no longer a problem within that herd.

Rosman believes the problem manifested itself on his farm because he planted 100% of the same brand of genetically engineered Bt seed corn and fed 100% of that corn to his livestock.

The Spokesman articles illustrate the fact that genetically engineered crops have been rushed to market without proper testing. There have been no mandatory tests on the long term effects of these crops on livestock or human health. For example, the EPA, which regulates Bt corn, requires no tests to determine how the crop impacts the reproductive systems of the animals that eat it. -submitted by Jim Riddle

Comments From the Peanut Gallery

-Sunny Crowley

As a founding board member, I was lucky enough to be actively involved in the formation of HOFA. At that time, I brought to the group 12 years of organic and natural product experience. I was instrumental in establishing the first paperwork, assisting in writing the first grant received from the county of Maui, and working with farmers to understand that HOFA would greatly benefit from the synergy of involving marketing and retail people in the group.

I look now, similar to a proud parent, and am happy to see that that is indeed what has happened. HOFA’s board now has retailer participation!

As a natural products broker and industry consultant for the past 18 years, I have seen a solid influx of mass manufacturers and farmers transition into the world of organics. Big names such as, General Mills, and even our own Maui Land and Maui Pineapple Company.

A big congratulations to all the past and present board members, staff, and members at large for being among the first to be accepted for federal accreditation.

Organic Has Fewer Residues

Organic produce has significantly fewer pesticide residues than conventional and even “green” products, according to a new study, but national press reports cited the fact that organic commodities are not totally free of pesticides.

The Consumers Union(CU) and Organic Materials Review Institute(OMRI) study ran government and CU data on 94,000 organic and non-organic food samples and found that 23% of organically grown produce samples contained at least one pesticide residue, while 73% of conventional produce detected residues.

Organic produce also had lower pesticide residue than on produce with “green” labels, claiming reduced pesticide use. About 50% of the “green” produce had residues.

“Our team was struck by the consistency of pesticide residues reported in three very different data sets,” said Charles Benbrook with Benbrook Consulting Services. “We can now say with confidence that organic farming systems help reduce exposure to pesticides in the human diet.”

“Our research confirms what organic farmers have known all along, but now we have the data to back it up,” said Brian Baker, OMRI research director. Residues were found on some organic produce, Baker explained, because of pesticide spray drift, soil/water contamination, mislabeling or possibly, fraud. For example, an “organic” bell pepper sample from Mexico had six pesticide residues.

The researchers said that organic farmers and certifiers could benefit from “routine access” to government pesticide residue testing on organic food samples. “Early detection of residues would help certifiers, growers and the organic trade identify and deal with instances and locations where pesticide drift or soil contamination is leading to detectable residues,” according to OMRI.

*Excerpt from Organic Business News Volume 14, No. 5 May 2002.

Hawaii Organic Farmers Association (HOFA)
P.O. Box 6863, Hilo, HI 96720
Phone: (808) 969-7789 Toll Free: (877) 674-4632 Fax: (808) 969-7759
Email: hofa@hawaiiorganicfarmers.org
Copyright 2002