FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 5, 2002
Clemson Authorized to Offer Organic Certification
CLEMSON – The Clemson University Department of Fertilizer and Seed Certification Services (FSCS) has been accredited by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to offer organic certification.
The Clemson FSCS department is one of 28 private and 10 state agencies located across the U.S. that will certify organic production and handling operations under the National Organic Program (NOP) standards. It is the only agency located in SC to offer organic certification to state producers.
Organic production has been practiced in the U.S. since the late 1940s. The industry has grown from experimental garden plots to farms with surplus products to sell under a special "organic" label. This growth stimulated a need for verification that products are indeed produced according to certain standards. In the late 1980s, the organic industry petitioned Congress to draft the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA), which defines organic.
In 2000, the USDA announced the final national standards for the production, handling and processing of organically grown agricultural products. The new organic standards detail the methods, practices and substances that can be used in producing and handling organic crops and livestock, as well as processed products. All agricultural products labeled organic must originate from farms or handling operations certified by a state or private agency accredited by USDA. Farms and handling operations that sell less than $5,000 worth per year of organic agricultural products are exempt from certification. Consumers began to see the new organic labeling on products in their local grocery stores in the summer of 2001. Full implementation is mandated by October of 2002.
For more information on organic standards and certification, contact the Clemson University Department of Fertilizer and Seed Certification at (864) 646-2142 or visit fscs.clemson.edu.