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<pre>IMPORTANT NEWS FOR INTERNATIONAL ORGANIC CERTIFICATION
AGENCIES

International agencies certifying products as organic
for importation into the United States MUST apply to
the United States Department of Agriculture (U.S.D.A.)
for and receive accreditation in order for their
certified organic products to be recognized as
“organic” in the U.S.. Without such accreditation by
the U.S.D.A., the products, which the foreign
certifying agency certifies to be organic, will not be
accepted as “organic” in the U.S.. This recent ruling
was published in December 2000 and the U.S.D.A. began
accepting applications by foreign certifying agencies
on April 21, 2001.

If foreign organic certifying agencies apply for
accreditation with the U.S.D.A. before October 21,
2001, a major portion of the application fee is
waived, according to the Organic Trade Association
(O.T.A.) Legislation Office. Thereafter, a foreign
certifying agency applying for U.S. accreditation will
be charged a substantial fee for the processing of
such application.

According to the O.T.A., the U.S.D.A. will accept
applications and waive the major application fee for
the six-month period between April 21, 2001 and
October 20, 2001. During the following six-month
period from October 21, 2001 to April 21, 2002, the
U.S.D.A. will process the applications, verify the
information received, and publish a list of foreign
certifying agencies accredited by the U.S.D.A. on
April 21, 2002.

An application form may be found on the official
website of the National Organic Programs at
www.ams.usda.gov/nop. According to the O.T.A., it is
important for foreign certifying agencies to apply
promptly and receive accreditation by the U.S.D.A. as
soon as possible because the reciprocity and/or
acceptance of products identified as “organic” by and
between specific governments will take several more
years.

I hope this is of assistance.

Best regards,


=====
Constantine Alexander
"La Terre est Vivante"

Visit our web site
http://www.OliveTree.cc
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