Dairy Field: Regulatory Roulette

The call for national organic food standards has been answered, but the call is a wrong number as far as Horizon Organic Dairy and other organic food companies are concerned.

Recently proposed United States Department of Agriculture standards fall short of the organic food industry's vision. And the organic industry and its consumers are letting USDA know - at press time, with a comment period deadline of May 1, USDA had received 27,000 comments on the regulations.

"The huge consumer push on this has just begun. They're going to have more comments than they ever had on any regulation before," Horizon co-founder Mark Retzloff says.

Retzloff and co-founder Paul Repetto helped craft the initial suggested regulations nearly eight years ago, prior to Horizon's inception.

Though Horizon champions the need for USDA organic regulations, the proposed guidelines are objectionable to organic food companies for several reasons. The USDA-proposed standards permit: use of up to 20 percent of feed grown with pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals for organic dairy cows; use of antibiotics in organic animals; use of treated sewage sludge for fertilizer; genetically modified organisms in production; and irradiation of organic foods.

The Organic Trade Association representing more than 600 organic producers, processors, shippers, certification organizations and retailers - has issued a point-by-point rebuttal of the proposal.

Meanwhile, Horizon is doing its part to alert consumers.

The side panel of 2.5 million Horizon milk cartons carries information on the regulations and lets consumers know the method of registering comments directly with USDA.

If the final regulations contain lower standards than those selfimposed on the organic food industry, it most likely won't hurt Horizon, says Barney Feinblum, president and chief executive officer.

"Just because the standards may be lower, we're not going to lower our standards. The power of the brand is to communicate to consumers that if you want the best, Horizon is the product to choose."