OMRI publishes listing of pesticide products compliant with NOP regulations February 3, 2003 For Immediate Release Contact: Cindy Douglas Phone: 541-343-7600 FAX: 541-343-8971 info@omri.org www.omri.org EUGENE, Ore. – The Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) announces listing of newly compliant pesticide products from its OMRI Listed™ suppliers. OMRI is a nonprofit organization that maintains comprehensive lists of products and ingredients permitted for use by organic certifiers, growers, ranchers, processors, and handlers. OMRI has verified that these pesticide products meet the criteria established in the USDA's National Organic Program (NOP) regulation concerning inert ingredients (7 CFR §205.601m). Many of the product suppliers reformulated their pesticides to meet NOP regulations implemented on October 21, 2002. "I'd like to thank the companies for their hard work and responsible efforts to ensure that pesticides available for organic farmers meet the requirements of the USDA NOP regulations for organic agriculture", said Cindy Douglas, OMRI Product Review Manager. The following OMRI Listed™ pesticides have been reinstated or recently added to the OMRI Brand Name Product List: Agree WG , Deliver, Javelin WG, Teknar HP-D, Neemix 4.5, Triact 70EC,       and Trilogy Broad Spectrum Fungicide/Miticide from Certis USA.      These products have a special designation as "Green Line" with a green      sunburst or green line on the label. Aspire and AQ-10 from Ecogen. CheckMate OLR, CheckMate PTB-XL Dispenser, CheckMate OFM Dispenser,      CheckMate TPW, and CheckMate SF Dispenser from Suterra LLC. Conserve Fire Ant Bait, Conserve Professional Fire Ant Bait, GF-120 NF      Naturalyte Fruit Fly Bait, and Entrust are newly listed spinosad products      from Dow AgroSciences. Dipel 2X, Biobit HP, ReTain, DiTera WDG, and Pro Gibb 4% from      Valent Biosciences. Naturalis L and Naturalis H&G from Troy Biosciences. Pyganic EC 1.4 II and Pyganic EC5.0 II from MGK Company. Stimplex PGR from Acadian AgriTech. StorOx from BioSafe Systems (reformulation of Oxidate). Inert ingredients in pesticides are those ingredients that are not intended to affect a target pest. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies inert ingredients in four lists. EPA List 1 (Inert Ingredients of Toxicological Concern) and EPA List 2 (Potentially Toxic Inert Ingredients) are prohibited in organic agriculture. EPA List 3 (Inerts of Unknown Toxicity) may be permitted if individually reviewed and added to the NOP's National List. EPA List 4 (Inert Ingredients of Minimal Concern) is permitted in organic products, unless specifically prohibited on NOP's National List. The federal pesticide law (Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act [7 USC Chapter 6]) does not require inert ingredients to be identified by name and percentage on the product label. However, the total percentage of inert ingredients must be declared. EPA notes that inerts are not necessarily harmless and that some inerts may be toxic. OMRI has provided technical information to help prioritize EPA's review of List 3 inert ingredients historically used in organic agriculture. EPA has recently completed reassessments of many inert ingredients and posted a new updated List 4 that includes a number of former List 3 inerts. About the Organic Materials Review Institute OMRI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created to benefit the organic community and the general public. Its primary mission is to publish and disseminate generic and specific (brand name) list of materials allowed and prohibited for use in the production, processing, and handling of organic food and fiber. The organization provides technical reviews and maintains comprehensive lists of materials and ingredients for use in the organic industry. OMRI also conducts scientific research and provides information to organic certifiers, growers, ranchers, and processors.