USDA Mulls Tougher Organic Pet Food Rules

"The United States Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program (NOP) has put into place a new recommendation that has the potential to create a problem for a number of pet food manufacturers. The agency recently released a recommendation that pet food should not be called organic if it contains vitamins and minerals that are not organic, even if all other ingredients are organic. Pet food companies, like human food companies, can currently have their foods certified as organic if they are fully organic aside from vitamins and minerals. This policy change would require a major shift in direction for pet food manufacturers using the current standards, as the food they are producing now could no longer be marketed as organic. Some would also need to discard packaging they have already printed, along with printing plates that feature the word ³organic.² Some manufacturers may also have food that has already been produced which they would be unable to sell."

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