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Department of Agriculture Amends Voluntary Labeling Program for Biobased Products
Practical Law Legal Update 2-616-4918 (Approx. 5 pages)
Department of Agriculture Amends Voluntary Labeling Program for Biobased Products
by Practical Law Commercial
| Published on 22 Jun 2015 • USA (National/Federal) |
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recently published final amendments to the regulations of the Biobased Products Voluntary Labeling Initiative, a component of its BioPreferred Program (Program).
On June 14, 2015, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) published final amendments to the regulations of the Biobased Products Voluntary Labeling Initiative, a component of its BioPreferred Program (Program) (80 Fed. Reg. 34023 (June 15, 2015)).
The goal of the Program is to increase the purchase and use of biobased products and has two major components:
- Mandatory government purchasing requirements. Under the Program, federal agencies and their contractors are required to purchase products that have a minimum biobase content for certain categories of products. For information on other socioeconomic considerations for government purchases, see Article, Considerations for Potential Federal Government Contractors: What are some Basic Differences between Commercial and Government Contracts?.
- A voluntary labeling initiative for biobased products. Companies may apply for certification to display the USDA Certified Biobased Product label on a product that states a third party tested and verified the product's biobased content.
These amendments concern the voluntary labeling component as well as general product and material certification under the Program, specifically impacting:
- The defined terms used by the Program's regulations and USDA guidance. The amendments delete, revise and add terms defined by and used throughout the USDA's Program regulations. These modifications include changes to the certification marks used to identify products as USDA certified (7 C.F.R. § 3202.2.)
- The criteria the USDA uses to determine whether a product is eligible to use the Program-certifying mark. The amendments include new criteria for determining whether a product is eligible to use the Program's certification mark for products that:
- are complex assemblies; and
- use innovative approaches.
- The initial approval process for manufacturers seeking certification under the Program. The amendments change the initial certification approval process, with respect to:
- products that are similar to products that were previously certified;
- manufacturer changes to either its company or product name; and
- periodic auditing by the USDA and third parties.
- Legislative authority references (7 C.F.R. § 3202.8).
- The USDA's continuing oversight and monitoring efforts. The amendments identify three specific stages of ongoing auditing efforts conducted by the USDA. The sequence is already in the process of completing one cycle, which began in 2012 and is scheduled to end in 2016. The sequence will start over in 2018. (7 C.F.R. § 3202.10).
For an overview of product labeling, see Practice Note, Product Labeling. For information on organic agricultural good labeling, see Practice Note, Producing and Labeling Organic Agricultural Goods. For a list of the main questions to answer and issues to be considered when preparing or reviewing a product label, see Product Labeling Checklist.