Honey and beekeeping are not included in the new proposal for national standards for organic food annnounced Mar 7 by Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman.

According to the notice published in the Federal Register, Comments USDA received about honey in response to its initial December 1997 organic proposal made officials recognize that those provisions for certifying beekeeping operations were inadequate; therefore, they were removed entirely from the new organic proposal. The notice continued: "[USDA] will review the detailed production and handling standards for beekeeping operations that several certifying agents have developed and assess the feasibility of developing [an apiculture] practice standard."

"This is the most comprehensive and strongest organic standard in the
world", said Secretary Glickman. "I believe that is exactly what American
consumers and organic farmers want."

Essentially, the proposal offers a national definition for the term
"organic." Currently, organic food is certified by various private and state organizations that each use their own standards for the term "organic."

"A single national organic standard, backed by consistent and accurate
labeling, will greatly reduce consumer confusion," said Mr. Glickman.
"Consumers will know what they are buying and organic farmers will know what is expected of them."

The summary of the proposed rule from the Federal Register includes: "This proposed rule would establish a National Organic Program (NOP or program) under the direction of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), an arm of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This national program is intended to facilitate interstate commerce and marketing of fresh and processed food that is organically produced and to assure consumers that such products meet consistent, uniform standards.

"This program will establish national standards for the production and
handling of organically produced products, including a National List of
substances approved and prohibited for use in organic production and
handling. This proposal will establish a national-level accreditation
program to be administered by AMS for State officials and private persons who want to be accredited as certifying production and handling operatons in compliance with the requirements of this regulation and initiate compliance actions to enforce program requirements."

"The proposal includes requirements for labeling products as organic and containing organic ingredients. The rule also provides for importation of organic agricultural products from foreign programs determined to have equivalent organic program requirements. The program is proposed under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, as amended."

In the section about leaving out bees and honey, the Federal Register notice says: "Apiculture Standard. The first proposal [December 1997} allowed bees to be brought into an organic operatioin at any state of life and required that the predominant portion of their forage be organically produced."

"Several commenters, including producer and industry groups, pointed out that bees differ significantly from other livestock types and that the
first proposal lacked sufficient details to guide honey producers. Many
consumers stated that the provisions proposed for bee forage, which required only that a predominant portion of the bees' forage be organic, were too vague and lenient."

"Recognizing that the provisons in the first proposal for certifying
beekeeping operations were inadequate, we removed them entirely from this proposal. We will review the detailed production and handling standards for beekeeping operations that several certifying agents have developed and assess the feasibility of developing a practice standard. The [National Organic Standards Board] has agreed to review and recommned an apiculture practice standard for organic honey production and hive care, including the origin of organic bees."

The proposal was scheduled for publication in the Federal R.