Advance Notice: OMRI Updates Standards Manual

Significant revisions to the OMRI Standards Manual©, including the OMRI Generic Materials List© (GML) for review to the National Organic Program (NOP) regulations, will take effect January 15, 2025. These revisions comprise a periodic update to the publication, typically occurring approximately every two years, as an effort to continuously improve our policies, standards, and educational content.

Significant revisions to use classes, GML categories, and technical evaluation criteria are described below. For a side-by-side comparison of all revisions, see here.

As of January 15, 2025, you may download the revised GML here. The previous edition of the GML currently on the website will be replaced by the new edition on this date. At that time, OMRI is also proud to announce that a full version of the GML in Spanish will be available for download. Watch your mailbox for an announcement when this new resource is available.

All revisions are effective 1/15/2025

Summary of changes:

• Processing and Handling use classes will be merged

Previous editions of the OMRI Standards Manual described two separate listing classes for ingredients and processing aids used in organic processing and handling. These classes, Processing Agricultural Ingredients and Processing Aids (PA) and Processing Nonagricultural Ingredients and Processing Aids (PN), have been merged into a singular Processing Ingredients and Aids (PI) class.

• Insect Frass category and product review criteria

Since 2014, OMRI has maintained compliance criteria for the review of insect frass (excrement) requiring full and detailed manufacturing process review for all materials fed to insects during their lifecycle. Due to advancements in the insect production industry and ongoing research into insect rearing for agricultural uses, OMRI has reevaluated our methods for the review of frass.

OMRI has chosen to review substances fed to insects in a manner more akin to compost feedstock review rather than requiring full, detailed manufacturing processes for every component.

What does this mean for applicants? Compost feedstock review is somewhat less burdensome than OMRI’s previous criteria for insect frass feedstocks. Raw agricultural materials and minimally processed waste materials (such as crop residue, yard waste, cannery waste, pomace, and brewery waste) do not require full manufacturing process review. If OMRI can confirm that the material does not contain intentionally added prohibited synthetic substances and additives, these plant-based materials are allowed to be fed to insects without further detail. We have created an educational category describing what permitted compost, vermicompost, and insect frass feedstocks comprise.

Frass from insects fed raw livestock manure remain subject to the pre-harvest interval restriction unless compliantly composted or processed (heat-treated) prior to use. Pathogen and heavy metals testing will apply to all insect frass products.

• Significant revisions to listing categories (category names appear in italics)

Crops scope

• • OMRI has amended the Biological Controls and Biopesticides (Class CP) categories to more closely align with EPA definitions. Specifically, only microorganisms are considered biopesticides, but we had previously permitted the listing of nematodes there. Nematodes are macroorganisms more appropriately reviewed as Biological Controls.
  • We have provided the option to list Seed Treatments containing fertilization functions that are formulated with restricted synthetic materials appearing on the National List.
  • We have removed the option to list Traps as crop pesticide products because traps are devices outside of OMRI’s scope. Lures used in traps remain in scope.
  • All mentions of NOP Policy Memo 15-4 have been removed. This Policy Memo was archived by the NOP earlier this year because the compliance criteria described appears in the National List Chlorine annotations directly.
  • The Carriers category is now available for listing to accommodate products allowed as delivery aids for soil amendments and fertilizers.
  • Several reference categories for prohibited substances previously only directed readers to other explicitly prohibited material categories. This caused confusion among some readers who thought the materials may be permitted. We have added explicit prohibited statuses to these reference categories for clarity. 

Livestock Scope

• • We have created a new category to accommodate products intended as pelletizers or extrusion aids called Feed Binders.
  • We removed mistakenly retained restrictions referring to §205.238 of the NOP regulations from the LP categories Elemental Sulfur and Sucrose Octanoate Ester. This redundant restriction should have been removed in the 2022 edition when we moved the restriction to the class description since it applies to all LP products.

Processing and Handling Scope

• • We have created two new categories named Sanitizers, Disinfectants, Cleaners, and Odor Control Products (one allowed and one restricted) to allow the listing of these types of products when entirely formulated with allowed or restricted substances appearing on §205.605 of the National List.
  • We have revised the Calcium Carbonate category and created a new prohibited category named Precipitated Calcium Carbonate. We wish to make it clear that a specific manufacturing process employed to produce calcium carbonate ingredients is a synthetic process and not covered by the nonsynthetic allowance for the material at §205.605(a) of the National List.
  • The Egg Wash and Vinegar categories were amended to clearly classify eggs as raw agricultural commodities and only subject to post-harvest handling standards. As a post-harvest handling function, producers may use any nonsynthetic substance (not only those substances on §205.605), to wash eggs. This change also removes the requirement that vinegar be certified organic when used as an egg wash.
  • The categories Pectin, low methoxy and Pectin, high methoxy have been merged to align with the National List.
  • We have removed a category named Clay, Bentonite because it is completely redundant with another category simply named Bentonite.

OMRI will begin the process of updating product listings impacted by these changes, which will be communicated via regular quarterly updates. OMRI welcomes any comments from affected stakeholders regarding our standards at any time. Our dedication to continuous standards improvement is not only limited to the two-year periodic update cycle.

The search feature at OMRI.org will be updated with the latest information on January 15, 2025.