Since this petition is opposed by a number of large corporations that would like to continue using solvent-extracted, conventional soy lecithin in organic foods (which is cheaper than the organic version), it is crucial that the NOSB hear our voices again as it prepares to cast its final vote on this important issue.
Background:
Take a look at the bar of organic chocolate in your desk drawer or the carton of organic ice cream in your freezer, and you’ll likely see a little-known but very common food ingredient: lecithin.
Lecithin is an important minor ingredient in many processed foods. It is used as an emulsifier to prevent separation of oil and water, and is especially common in chocolate to improve its texture and increase its shelf life.
Unless the ingredients list specifically states “organic soy lecithin,” the lecithin was processed from hexane-extracted soybeans, which were grown conventionally and likely sprayed with pesticides in the fields – ”in organic food??? Hexane is a neurotoxic chemical byproduct of gasoline refinement.
Currently, food manufacturers can legally add conventional soy lecithin to organic foods because, in the past, an organic version was not available.
To be labeled “ORGANIC,” and to carry the USDA organic seal, food has to be made up of at least 95% organic ingredients. The only non-organic ingredients are ones that are unavailable organically and cannot make up more than 5% of the product.
When the organic standards were developed in 1995, organic soy lecithin was not commercially available. But times have changed.
Over the years, one pioneering organic company has not only developed a truly organic soy lecithin, but has invested in the manufacturing capability to supply the organic version to every food manufacturer that needs it. Organic soy lecithin is not extracted with the use of hexane, a toxic and polluting solvent prohibited in organic production. And the organic version comes from organically grown, non-GMO soybeans (genetically engineered ingredients are also banned in organics).
Now that organic lecithin is commercially available, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), the expert citizen panel that Congress set up to decide these issues, needs to determine whether to recommend removing lecithin from this list of conventional substances that are allowed in organic foods. This is the first time in organic regulatory history that a food ingredient has been petitioned to be removed from the National List.
The Cornucopia Institute urges members of the organic community to tell the NOSB members that you support the removal of lecithin from 205.605 and 205.606. If lecithin remains on the list, food manufacturers have no incentive to opt for the truly organic lecithin, and many will continue to put hexane-extracted, conventional lecithin in your organic foods – it’s cheaper.
There is more at stake than simply the type of lecithin you can expect to find in your organic foods in the future. If the regulations do not change when companies innovate and develop new organic ingredients, why should anyone bother investing in the expensive research and development that gives rise to the availability of new organic ingredients?
We need to send a strong message to the NOSB members and the USDA that we stakeholders in the organic industry expect the regulations to evolve with the times. And change should be in the interest of organic consumers and innovative organic companies. By Cornucopia.org
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