Sep 7, 2021

Fall meeting for organic standards board goes online-only

The fall meeting of the National Organic Standards Board will now be held online-only, instead of in-person.

The NOSB usually meets twice a year in a public forum to discuss and vote on recommendations to the USDA. The recommendations help the department of agriculture develop and refine the organic standards.

The fall meeting will run October 13-21 and had previously been planned to be held in person in downtown Sacramento, California.

“This will allow the Board to move forward with deliberations as scheduled in an open and public setting, without the need for travel,” according to a Sept. 3 email newsletter from the USDA’s National Organic Program. “For those who had planned to attend in person, the NOSB room block has been cancelled; be sure to check any other hotel reservations that you have made.”

The public comment period and public comment registration are open and parties are encouraged to review the online meeting materials and provide feedback on topics included on the agenda, according to the USDA’s newsletter. Details on how to comment are available on the NOSB Fall 2021 Meeting webpage.

Meeting materials available online include the tentative agenda, proposals and discussion documents, according to the USDA’s newsletter. Individual proposal documents are posted on the subcommittee web pages and as a single combined PDF on the NOSB Fall 2021 meeting webpage.

To be considered during the Fall 2021 Meeting, written comments and requests for oral comment speaking slots must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, September 30, 2021.