What was the Organic Foods Production Act?
The Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) was Title XXI of the 1990 Farm Bill. Its purpose was to establish national standards for the production and handling of foods labeled as organic. Previously, private and State agencies had been certifying organic practices, but there was no uniformity in standards and therefore no guarantee that organic meant the same thing from state to state, or even locally from certifier to certifier. National standards for organic products were desired by both producers and consumers to clear up this confusion in the marketplace and to protect against mislabeling or fraud. OFPA allows for state standards that are more restrictive than the federal standards, but they must be approved by the USDA. In addition, states cannot discriminate against out-of-state products that meet the federal standards.
