Feds may relax standards for organic foods

Washington -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering relaxing its standards for organic foods, it was reported Saturday.

The USDA is considering a list of 38 new non-organic ingredients that would be permitted in organic foods. Almost any type of manufactured organic food could be affected, including cereal, sausage, bread and beer, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

"This proposal is blatant catering to powerful industry players who want the benefits of labeling their products 'USDA organic' without doing the work to source organic materials," said a statement from the Organic Consumers Association, a nonprofit group with 850,000 members.

Many non-organic ingredients, including hops, are already used in organic products such as the Anheuser-Busch Wild Hop Lager, which is promoted as "the perfect organic experience," the Times said.

The newspaper said Wild Hop Lager uses hops grown with chemical fertilizers and sprayed with pesticides. Anheuser-Busch says it must use non-organic hops because it can't find enough organic hops for its Wild Lager.

© Copyright 2007 United Press International