G.  Oklahoma Organic Food Act

 

§2-5-301.  Short title.

 

This subarticle shall be known as the “Oklahoma Organic Food Act”.

 

§2-5-302.  Purpose.

 

The purpose of the Oklahoma Organic Food Act is to permit and facilitate the production and marketing of organically grown crops in a manner which assures the consumer that the crop has been produced and marketed without the use of prohibited substances.

 

§2-5-303.  Definitions.

 

For purposes of the Oklahoma Organic Food Act:

 

1.      “Certification” means the annual process by which a grower of organic foods meets the standards promulgated by the State Board of Agriculture pursuant to the Oklahoma Organic Food Act;

 

2.      “Organic farming” means production of crops based upon a system of soil and crop management that relies on building humus levels through crop rotations, recycling organic wastes, and applying balanced mineral amendments and that uses, when necessary, mechanical, botanical, or biological controls;

 

3.      “Organic food” means crops produced under a system of organic farming and which are processed, packaged, transported, and stored to retain nutritional value without the use of artificial preservatives, coloring agents or other additives, ionizing radiation, or prohibited substances;

 

4.      “Producer” means a person who is engaged in the business of planting, growing, or harvesting crops;

 

5.      “Prohibited substance” means a chemical compound or formulation which is not permitted to be used in organic production, processing, or handling; and

 

6.      “Transitional period” means the three-year interval required to change from nonorganic production methods to organic farming.

 

 

 

 

§2-5-304.  License - Application - Use of state certification label - Inspection of food - Authority to revoke or suspend license.

 

A.     The State Board of Agriculture may issue a license upon request if all requirements of the Oklahoma Organic Food Act have been met.  A properly completed license application shall be submitted with a fee of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) by March 31 of each year.  No person shall market, label, or advertise any food as being “Certified Organic” or “Organic Certification - Transitional” unless in compliance with the Oklahoma Organic Food Act and/or the Organic Food Production Act of 1990, as amended, 7 U.S.C. Section 6501 et seq. and rules promulgated thereto.  Nothing in the Oklahoma Organic Food Act shall be construed to prevent a person from offering for sale crops produced under organic farming practices, so long as the producer does not label the product as certified by the Board as meeting the conditions for “certification” specified by the Oklahoma Organic Food Act.

 

B.     The Board is authorized to inspect, sample, analyze, examine records, and test any food claimed to be organically grown, distributed within the state to determine if the food is in compliance with the Oklahoma Organic Food Act.  The Board has the authority to enter upon public or private property at any reasonable time for the purpose of administering the Oklahoma Organic Food Act.  Any licensee or applicant for license subject to the provisions of the Oklahoma Organic Food Act shall be deemed to have given consent to any authorized agent of the Board to access, enter, inspect, or monitor the property.  Refusal to allow access, entry, or inspection shall constitute grounds for the denial, nonrenewal, suspension, or revocation of a license.

 

C.    The Board is authorized to promulgate rules as necessary to administer the Oklahoma Organic Food Act and establish certification standards to carry out the Oklahoma Organic Food Act.

 

D.    The Board is authorized to revoke, suspend or not renew any license upon satisfactory proof that the permittee has violated any of the provisions of the Oklahoma Organic Food Act or rules promulgated thereto.

 

§2-5-305.  Classes of certification ‑ Certification of land as organically managed ‑ Producer's farm plan ‑ Transitional period ‑ Soil and tissue testing ‑ Laboratory analysis of produce.

 

A.     Organically certified food shall be produced on land meeting the requirements as specified in the certification standards.  The two classes of certification that will be recognized are “Organic Certification” and “Organic Certification - Transitional”.

B.     The State Board of Agriculture may certify land as organically managed only if harvest occurs at least three (3) years after the beginning of continual and continuing use of organic farming practices on the land.

 

C.    The Board shall certify whole farms, farm units, or individual fields after the review and acceptance of the producer's detailed farm plan.

 

D.    The Board shall not certify part of the farm unless distinct and defined boundaries exist between fields under organic management and other fields, and the proposed acreage will be used for a bona fide trial of organic management methods.

 

E.     During the transitional period, producers of plant crops who have satisfied all other requirements for certification, except passage of the required transitional period, may market their crop under a State Department of Agriculture transitional license.  The transitional license holder shall not use the terms “certified” or “Oklahoma Department of Agriculture Certified Organic”, but shall use the phrase “Organic Certification - Transitional”.

 

F.     The Board may require soil and tissue testing to monitor fertility and evaluate soil management methods.  Plant materials, irrigation, weed, insect, and disease controls used in crop management shall conform with recognized organic practices.

 

G.    Organic foods shall be properly handled during harvesting, storing, transporting, and marketing to maintain identity and quality.

 

H.     The Board shall require laboratory analysis of produce claimed to be organically grown if it has reasonable cause to suspect the produce may contain a substance not approved for organic production.

 

I.         All new applicants are required to have their soil growing media and irrigation water, if not municipal, assayed for the presence of pesticide residues and tested at the producers’ expense.

 

§2-5-306.  Crop production records ‑ Records of laboratory analyses ‑ Verification documents required ‑ Audits.

 

A.     Crop production records shall be kept for each farm, farm unit, field, or other production unit for which application for certification is made.

 

B.     A producer of both organic produce and conventional produce on the same farm shall keep separate records for each category of produce.

 

C.    Records of all laboratory analyses performed for a producer including soil tests, plant‑tissue tests, forage tests, bacteria counts, and residue tests in soil, water, or crops shall be available for review by the State Board of Agriculture.

 

D.    Verification documents that may be required include, but are not limited to, questionnaires, farm plans, affidavits, inspection reports, laboratory assays, and other documents to verify the path taken by an organic food product through post harvest handling and distribution.

 

E.     The Board may conduct audits of all documents for verification that producers meet the requirements of the Oklahoma Organic Food Act and rules.

 

§2-5-307.  Stop‑sale, use, or removal order ‑ Violations ‑ Penalties.

 

A.     The State Board of Agriculture is authorized to issue a written or printed “stop-sale” or “notice of violation” order to the owner or custodian of a food being offered or exposed for sale in violation of the Oklahoma Organic Food Act or rules promulgated thereto.

 

B.     Any person violating the provisions of the Oklahoma Organic Food Act shall, upon conviction thereof, be guilty of a misdemeanor and may be punished by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00).  Each day a violation continues shall be a separate offense.