English | Español
Looking for complete background information on a particular topic? You’ve come to the right place!
Browse OMRI’s articles, or contact us to suggest a topic. Don’t forget that subscribers receive the complete OMRI newsletter with the latest reports, delivered quarterly.
I know that Trehalose is used as a food additive for a variety of purposes. Is it allowed for use in organic processing as a natural flavor?
By Lindsay Fernandez-Salvador
Commonly referred to as Trehalose or ‘Treha’, this disaccharide sugar is naturally produced by plants, fungi, yeast and invertebrates. It serves as an anti-desiccant during drought and a nutrient transfer medium in insects. Treha is catabolized by the enzyme trehalase and is effectively digested by humans into glucose. Historically...
What are the allowable sources of glucono delta-lactone and how is it used in organic processing?
By Johanna Mirenda
Glucono delta-lactone is derived from gluconic acid, with numerous uses as a food processing aid. Nonsynthetic forms of glucono delta-lactone are allowed for use in organic processing in accordance with its listing at §205.605(a) of the National List. Glucono delta-lactone is produced when gluconic acid crystallizes in water. It is then isolated by filtering or...
Is erythorbic acid allowed for use in organic processing?
By Andria Schulze
Erythorbic acid is a stereoisomer of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C). While ascorbic acid is allowed as a synthetic ingredient in or on processed organic products at §205.605 in the NOP regulations, the issue of stereoisomers is not addressed in the rule. A stereoisomer is a molecule that has the same formula and sequence of bonded atoms as another, but differs in its three-dimensional orientation. For example, if your hands were molecules and your...
What are alginates? How are they used in organic food processing and handling?
By Taryn Kennedy
Alginates are polysaccharides derived from marine algae and brown seaweeds, such as kelp. Similar to the structure-forming component of cellulose in terrestrial plants, alginates give brown algae both mechanical strength and flexibility. Alginates are among a suite of polysaccharides or “seaweed gums” that are extracted by the hydrocolloid industry for use in food processing and for medical, pharmaceutical, textile and...
By Evan Thomsen
The OMRI Canada review program turned four this year, and during those four years we have seen a number of recurring reasons why OMRI might not allow products for organic production under the Canada Organic Regime (COR) regulations. There are several points of compliance that determine the allowance of input materials; some are OMRI policy, and some are mandated by the regulations in CAN/CGSB-32.310 and CAN/CGSB-32.311. Below is a list of some of the common reasons why products do not end up on the OMRI Canada...
How does OMRI evaluate GE materials for use as ingredients in processed organic food products labeled as “organic” or “made with organic ingredients”?
By Taryn Kennedy
Ingredients and processing aids that are directly produced through genetic engineering (GE) are prohibited. OMRI uses 5 criteria to evaluate whether a product is directly produced through GE and is therefore prohibited: 1) Is the product a live GE organism or a live organism derived from a GE organism? 2) Does the product contain modified DNA that will be...
I see that OMRI has multiple Generic Materials List (GML) categories for fruit coatings. Can you explain these categories? Specifically, can I use nonorganic orange shellac to process apples?
By Doug Currier
Fruit and vegetable coatings, sometimes called edible films, are applied directly to the outside of produce in order to preserve freshness and maintain quality standards often associated with appearances that consumers have come to expect. Besides orange shellac, other common materials used for these purposes...
Can wine be labeled as ‘organic’ if sulfites are added, but there are also naturally occurring sulfites in it?
By Brian Baker
Wine labeling laws are governed by the Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) (Formerly the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms). There is a web page that clarifies the requirements for labeling alcoholic beverages with organic claims: https://www.ttb.gov/alfd/alfd_organic.shtml. Wines that have organic claims on the label...
What should I look for in a compliant pectin?
By Doug Currier
Pectin, the gelling agent that provides us with jams and marmalades, has appeared on the National List in different places over the years. In the past, pectin (low-methoxy) was listed as an allowed synthetic, nonagricultural ingredient at §205.605(b) while pectin (high-methoxy) was listed at §205.606. In response to a petition filed in 2005, the NOSB Handling Committee recommended in October 2010 that pectin (low methoxy) be removed from §205.605(b) and the...
Would use of X-rays to detect foreign bodies in a plant constitute irradiation?
By Brian Baker
While X-rays create radiation, the levels used to detect foreign bodies in food are not considered 'ionizing radiation' as defined in the organic standards. Ionizing radiation used as a food preservation technique often involves the use of relatively high doses of gamma- and beta-rays from radioactive isotopes or electron beams. X-rays are also a form of ionizing radiation used to treat food and can be dangerous to work with...
