Policy Statement

OFRF Policy Statement on California SB 730
Organic Standards-Aquaculture

July 5, 2005

The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) supports SB 730 (Speier), regarding application of the Organic label to aquaculture and seafood. SB 730 would prohibit any aquaculture, fish, or seafood product from being labeled or represented as "organic" until formal organic certification standards have been developed and implemented by the United States Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program or by the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

OFRF supports this bill because currently there is no national standard regulating use of the organic label on seafood or aquaculture products. In the absence of such a federal standard, the state of California has no authority to regulate or prohibit such labeling. Any seafood or aquaculture product could currently be labeled as "organic", regardless of how it was actually produced, rendering the label meaningless. While farmed fish may be meeting industry or certifier defined standards, such standards are not necessarily uniform, and there is not proper enforcement in place for such labeling.

The organic industry depends on consumer confidence; such confidence relies on the uniformity, consistency and meaningfulness of the label. We believe that using organic labels on food products before National Standards for such products are in place is problematic for the industry as a whole. USDA has established two task forces to make recommendations for such standards (one is an Aquaculture Working Group and the other a Wild Fish Working Group). The organic label should not be used on seafood and aquaculture products until such standards are in place or until the State has the ability to recognize and enforce an alternative standard.