Catálogo de insumos para el control de plagas y enfermedades en ...

CATÁLOGO DE INSUMOS PARA EL CONTROL DE PLAGAS y ENFERMEDADES EN AGRICULTURA ORGÁNICA EN CHILECCO / FIAalso reviewed, particularly in reference to the US NationalOrganic Programo While the NOSB recommendationsdo not have the force of law, they are a necessary step toadding synthetic substances to the National List, and wereused to help determine the intent of some of the regulatoryintent, particularly with respect to natural substances not onthe prohibited non-synthetic list and synthetic substancesnot on the allowed synthetic substances listo Where NOSBrecommendations were not available, the authors usedstandard references, such as the Merck Index and Kirk­Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technologies to determineif a given substance is of natural or synthetic originoCrop Production InputsThe study showed that the IFOAM Basic Standards (lBS)Appendices are largely consistent with a worldwideconsensus on crop inputs. Most items on the IFOAMAppendices either reflected general agreement or had onlyminor differences in definitions and limitations. Most of thestandards follow the IFOAM approach of a c1osed, positivelisto This means that only items used on the list may be used,and that the list includes only those items that are allowed.Codex Alimentarius is a guideline to provide advice to governmentson internationally agreed upon inputs. It is anindicative list that is not inclusive or exclusive. lt can thusbe characterized as an open, positive list approach. In thiscase, items not on the list may be allowed when consideredagainst criteria, but again, the list contains only allowedand not prohibited items. The National Organic Programhas an open, positive and negative list approach. This isbased on whether substances are of natural or synthetic origin,and the list contains exceptions to the rule: only naturalsubstances that are prohibited and synthetic substancesthát are allowed appear on the list. In comparing the lBSwith the NOP, the researchers need to make a determina-tion of the natural status of various inputs, either based ona determination of the NOSB, or the references cited at theend of this article allowance is based on a source being naturaland not a synthetic analog or prepared by'excludedmethods' or genetic engineering.TABLE 2. Summary of Crop Inputs ComparedClassificationSubstances permitted by all standardsSubstances permitted b IFOAMand at minimum 3 standardsSubstances permitted b IFOAMand 2 or fewer standardsSubstances not on IFOAM's AppendicesTotal number of substances consideredNumber ofSubstances36Out of over 123 separate listings on IFOAM Appendices 1and 2, there was general agreement on 36 and only minordifferences on almost 70. In some cases, the disagreementswere based on semantics or questions about restrictions.The remaining 19 substances that are allowed by IFOAMbut not recognized by at least three other sets of standardsappear to reflect differences in structure and definitions inmost cases. For example, IFOAM Appendix 1 lists coffeegrounds, crop residues, mulch, dairy products and milk.These are not explicitly listed in other standards, but onecould imply that they are allowed as food by-products. Atthe last round of revisions of the IFOAM Basic Standardsin 2002 it helped to eliminate some lack of c1arity. For example,the term "calcified seaweed" was considered to betoo vague. Either this is a fossil product redundant with thelisting for "maerl", or it might be calcified by other means.Out of the 19 substances where the IFOAM Basic Standardsappear to be in the minority, only seven are identified asraising substantial issues. These are listed in Table 3.681942165TABLE 3: Substances in the IFOAM Basic StandardsNot Included in Other StandardsSubstanceHuman excrementCalcium chloridePotassium bicarbonateBasic slagSilicatesSeasalt and salty water(for crop protection)Sugar-beet limeTobacco teaStandard(s) whereNot IncludedEU, NOP (in sewagesewage sludge), JASCodex, NOP(if synthetic)Codex, EU, JASNOPEU, NOP (ifsynthetic), JASCodex, EU, lASCodex, NOP, or JASEU, lAS, NOPNotesProhibited as 'sewage sludge' in the NOP. Source separated naturalhuman excrement not treated with synthetic substances may besubject to the 'manure' standards.Recommended to be added to the NOP National List of prohibitednatural productolAS excludes from their NOP equivalency agreement.By - product of steel manufacturing.Not in EU or JAS; natural ones allowed and synthetic onesprohibited b NOP.lAS says 'only mined salt for soil fertility, and does not have it listedfor crop protection. Recommended to be added to the NOP NationalList as a prohibited natural.EU restricts to •Need recognized by the inspection authority orinspection body '.Prohibited by NOP; not listed by JAS; derogation expired in EU.Pure nicotine is prohibited.134