Organics Industry is the Fastest Growing Industry in the US
06/05/2008

Sources: Food Quality News

Contact information: Food Quality News

The organic industry is the fastest-growing
agriculture sector in the United States, currently
accounting for 3 percent of all food and beverage
sales. Retail revenues have risen 20 to 24 percent
each year since 1990, from $1 billion to nearly $17
billion in 2006. They are expected to reach nearly $24
billion by 2010.

At the same time, acreage of organic agriculture
operations more than doubled from 2001 to 2005, to a
current 4.05 million acres. The number of organic
operations increased by more than 18 percent in the
same period, to a 2005 value of 8.500 crop and
livestock operations and 2,900 handling operations.

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has renewed
its approval for 46 non-organically produced
substances to be used in foods and beverages that are
labeled "organic." At the same time, the agency
withdrew its approval for a type of food coloring and
a food additive.

Under the Organic Foods Production Act, the USDA's
National Organic Standards Board is required to renew
approval every five years for any non-organic
ingredients that are allowed into organic foods.

The products renewed include five agricultural
non-organic products and 41 non-agricultural,
non-organic products. The agricultural produced
products are corn starch, kelp, pectin, unbleached
lecithin and water extracted gums. Some of these are
not individual products, but categories;
water-extracted gums, for example, include arabic,
carob bean, guar and locust bean gums. Kelp may only
be used as a thickener or a dietary supplement.

The 41 allowed non-agricultural products include
common ingredients such as citric and lactic acid;
calcium carbonate; calcium chloride; carnauba wax;
bakers, brewers or nutritional yeast; dairy cultures;
flavors; sodium carbonate; glycerin; mono- and
diglycerides; and xanthan gum.

The USDA withdrew its approval, however, for colors
derived from non-synthetic sources and for potassium
tartrate derived from tartaric acid.