From the ArcaMax Publishing, Business News Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/businessnews/s-201316-793229
WASHINGTON (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering
relaxing its standards for organic foods, it was reported Saturday.
The USDA is considering a list of 38 new non-organic ingredients that
would be permitted in organic foods. Almost any type of manufactured
organic food could be affected, including cereal, sausage, bread and
beer, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.
"This proposal is blatant catering to powerful industry players who
want the benefits of labeling their products 'USDA organic' without
doing the work to source organic materials," said a statement from the
Organic Consumers Association, a nonprofit group with 850,000 members.
Many non-organic ingredients, including hops, are already used in
organic products such as the Anheuser-Busch Wild Hop Lager, which is
promoted as "the perfect organic experience," the Times said.
The newspaper said Wild Hop Lager uses hops grown with chemical
fertilizers and sprayed with pesticides. Anheuser-Busch says it must
use non-organic hops because it can't find enough organic hops for its
Wild Lager.