NOSB's list of allowed synthetic substances upheld

A U.S. District Court judge last month upheld the 2005 amendments to the Organic Foods Production Act, maintaining the current list of allowed synthetic substances in post-harvest handling of organic products. Federal Judge D. Brock Harvey of the District of Maine dismissed a legal action filed by Maine blueberry farmer Arthur Harvey alleging the U.S. secretary of agriculture had failed to meet the requirements set by last year's amendments. Harvey has been legally challenging the National Organic Program's list of allowed substances since 2002.