Written by Dan Langager, Northwest Horticultural Council, April 1, 2025
The annual spring public comment period to the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) is now open. The deadline to submit comments is April 28, 2025.
The Northwest Horticultural Council (NHC) encourages organic industry members to submit comments on materials under review to voice the challenges faced by our organic farmers and stakeholders. Comments can be as simple as a few sentences expressing why these materials are important to Pacific Northwest organic tree fruit production.
The NOSB is scheduled to vote on a petition to allow the semiochemical Pear Ester (Ethyl-2E,4Z-Decadienoate, also known as DA), as a synthetic kairomone for use in mating disruption and trapping products. The discussion document can be read here.
Additionally, the NOSB will begin the annual review of materials up for sunset from the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances. Some of the materials important to organic tree fruit growing and packing under sunset review this year include:
- Sodium silicate for pear floatation
- Vitamin D3 for rodenticides
- Aquatic plant extracts for plant or soil amendments
- Potassium hypochlorite for irrigation lines
- Carnauba wax for fruit coating
- Ozone for a disinfectant and sanitizer
- Insecticidal soaps and soap-based algicides
Click here to see the full list of sunset materials, discussion documents, and proposals. The pear ester petition and materials related to orchard production are under the Crops Subcommittee. Materials related to the packinghouse are under the Handling Subcommittee.
Written comments to the NOSB can be submitted via Regulations.gov (Docket Number AMS-NOP-24-0081). The deadline to submit written comments is 8:59 p.m. Pacific time on Monday, April 28, 2025. Tips on submitting comments can be found here and here.
More information on the NOSB agenda and how to submit comments is on the NHC’s website at nwhort.org/organics. If you have any questions or would like assistance submitting comments, please contact Dan Langager at langager@nwhort.org or 509-453-3193.
Contact
Dan Langager
Northwest Horticultural Council
Langager@nwhort.org
509-453-3193
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