Those in the organic field owe it to themselves to stay informed, Sheila Linderman, president of Sheila Linderman Consulting, told NAFFS Convention attendees. With that information, they’ll have the needed knowledge to ensure they continue to comply with the organic regulations.

At first glance, the organic regulations are simple. The most widely recognized label is the 100 percent organic label, she said. Then there’s 95 percent organic and then “made with organic” for processed products containing at least 70 percent organic material.

“It’s very important for all of you to know about this category because in those 30 percent non-organic ingredients you’re allowed some things that are restricted to the ‘made-with’ category, such as magnesium stearate,” she said. “You need to ask your customers what the final disposition of your flavor is going to be in their finished product because you can’t use magnesium stearate, for example, if their product is going to be fully organic.”

Linderman said all non-organic ingredients that may be used in organic products must be listed on the USDA National Organic Program’s National List. The list, she said, includes section 205.606 – agricultural products that are not commercially available as certified organic. “The other part of the list that pertains to you is 205.605(a) which is allowed non-synthetics and 205.605(b), allowed synthetics,” she said.

“It’s very important to note,” she said, referring to section 205.605(a), “that non-synthetic flavors are listed. Many certifiers think non-synthetic means natural. Of course, you all know that’s not true. There are annotations that apply to certain ingredients, such as citric acid. Citric acid must be fermented from a non-GMO carbohydrate source. Because 205.605(a) has flavors on it and there’s nothing at the top of that category that says if it becomes available as organic you must use it, everyone can continue to use non-synthetic, non-organic flavors in their certified products. That means they do not have to go to a certified organic flavor house for their flavor. This is a huge problem.”

That sort of situation is an example of some of the problems with organic certification, she said, before explaining another. “One of the issues with organic certification is that each certifier is supposed to have a certain level of expertise that covers the product they certify. It’s impossible to get a certifier that’s an expert in every field but they won’t admit it. That’s a problem. That’s not an issue. That’s a problem.”

She continued, using triethyl citrate as an example. “You would consider that a natural flavor component. Let’s say you’re using non-synthetic citrus acid and ethanol, both allowed under the NOP. You mix them together, you’ve formed a synthetic. The FDA definition, it’s still natural. But the NOP, it’s a synthetic and you’re not supposed to use triethyl citrate. Unfortunately, most certifiers don’t make that distinction. They don’t have the chemical understanding to know that you’ve created a new molecule. Conversely, if you make citrol, you’re just refining the molecule; you’re not changing it.”

Linderman said things have changed since the organic regulations were conceived, finalized and implemented. “Back then, organic meant really ugly apples. It didn’t mean anything that tasted good. It didn’t mean anything processed. It was thought at that time the organic industry would remain extremely limited. The reason they approved flavors onto the National List was they had no idea flavors could possibly be agricultural and they wanted this stuff that looked really bad to taste good. So back in 1990 when this was all conceived, there was limited knowledge,” she said.

“This notion that flavors are not agricultural is still being perpetuated by FEMA and some large flavor houses because they want to sell non-organic flavors into organic products. In fact, FEMA went so far as to go to the NOP several months ago with a presentation “proving” all flavors are non-agricultural. The proof is in the pudding. Those of you who have certified flavors, they could not be certified if they weren’t agricultural to start. That’s the No. 1 criterion. I don’t know if we have a chicken and egg situation. The NOP is severely misguided on this. There are some of us who are really trying to steer them in the right direction.”

Why should flavor companies make certified organic flavors? “Those flavors are not going to stay on 205.606(a) forever,” Linderman said. “There’s too much evidence to the contrary. There’s too strong a movement building to prove that flavors are indeed agricultural.

“Here’s something that’s now brewing under the NOP,” she added. “It used to be that if you had an organic cookie made up of butter, flour, eggs, sugar and a flavor, theoretically the only non-organic part of that might have been the flavor. Now the NOP is saying all those organic ingredients must be themselves calculated at 95 percent organic unless you have documented proof they are, for purposes of organic calculation, 100 percent organic or some other percentage. It’s crazy. It makes no sense. The point is, your customers may very well need organic percentage points via the flavors. Even if the flavors are used in small percentages, they should be organic to increase the organic percentage of your customer’s finished product.”

Essential Oils and Aroma Chemicals

Dill weed oil is the only essential oil that’s on 205.606, Linderman said. “Essential oils are clearly an agricultural product. The NOP agrees with that and so if you’re going to use essential oils, they must be organic. They haven’t figured out yet that distillates of essential oils could also be organic or are agricultural. So for the time being, you can use distillates.”

There are two criterion for aroma chemicals, she said. “One is that the source be non-GMO and agricultural. The second is that it be subjected to an allowed process – distillation, fermentation, extraction via inorganic solvent. Esterification, hydrolysis, oxidation, theoretically are not allowed. If you have a certifier who doesn’t understand that, then lucky you. Your products will probably never be looked at. Some of the certifiers really do have the chemical knowledge to understand that esterification creates a new molecule. Some don’t. They figure you’re starting with two allowed materials, why not mix them together?”

Commercially Available

If an ingredient is available on a certified organic basis, the assumption is that whoever got it certified is making it commercially available, Linderman said. “That’s the presumption. If it’s not available as organic, you have to go to three sources who normally carry the organic version to show they don’t have it available. Theoretically, then you can go to the non-organic source, only if the item is listed on 205.606.”

She used Annatto extract in an example of what happens when a product becomes commercially unavailable. “Annatto is very hard to produce because it degrades very quickly. There is commercially available Annatto extract, both water- and oil-soluble. But if they run out and everyone wants to put it in their yellow cheddar cheese, and that’s a big use for it, because Annatto extract is listed on 205.606, you can go to a non-organic Annatto extract and still retain the organic certification for your finished product. If, however, it’s not on 205.606, then you have to re-label your product as ‘made with organic ingredients.’

“The answer here is to make sure all the ingredients you need are going to be available. That’s a question of contracting ahead of time and making sure you have more than one source. Some of this may seem pretty obvious but in the organic world, where quantities are smaller anyway, it’s very important to try to forecast. When you have companies such as WalMart promising to produce 400 SKUs of organic and that’s going to use up all the organic dry milk in the world, it becomes that much more important that you forecast.” Cost, she added, is not supposed to be a factor in determining commercially available product.

Linderman said there are 56 certifiers in the U.S. “They’re absolutely paranoid of having their certification taken away because they allow non-organic ingredients to be used when organic is available,” she said.

“Certifiers are not allowed to tell a customer they no longer have to use an organic ingredient. They’re there to make sure as much organic as possible is used. But there may be other entities that are disseminating bad information. There are plenty of them. You just have to be on top of everything as much as possible.”

Flavor Keys

“Some certifiers absolutely insist you divulge your flavor key to them,” Linderman said. “Other certifiers will settle for a flavor affidavit saying all the ingredients in your flavor key are non-synthetic. They look at that and say they’re covered. There’s complete confidentiality between you and your certifier. My advice is to divulge to the best of your capability all of the ingredients to your certifier.”

Ag vs. Non-Ag

One other issue the National Organic Standards Board is still grappling with is what is agricultural vs. non-agricultural. “This is very pertinent to you,” Linderman said. “How far away from the initial agricultural product do you have to be in order to consider something non-ag? They don’t know. I certainly don’t know. You probably know better than I do. I suggest we form a group and try to inform them. Otherwise, all your work toward organics could very well be undone by certain other groups that want to show that flavors are not agricultural and cannot be agricultural.”