On October 9, the United States District Court of Northern
California ruled in favor of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
motion to dismiss a complaint brought against them by the Center for Food
Safety (CFA) and other consumer groups.
The groups had claimed the USDA did not issue a proper notice and
comment period regarding a new review process for certified organic foods.
The complainants originally filed on September 16,
2013. The USDA was seeking to revise
which “substances may be used in food certified as ‘organic’ under the Organic
Foods Production Act (OFPA).” Under the
act, there is a 15 member board called the National Organic Standards Board
(NOSB), which determines what substances can be used in products and considered
“organic” for labeling purposes. USDA
proposed a new framework that would alter the review process from requiring a two-third
vote for renewal of allowable substances. to now requiring all members of the
group to remove the substances from the allowable substance list.
The Court found the plaintiffs lacked standing because they
had failed to show the new review procedures would cause them any concrete
harm. The complainants will have 21 days
to file an amended complaint.
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