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The Guide

This guide is designed to support day-to-day decision-making, inspections, and compliance for organic handlers and processors.

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Resources

Explore reference materials to support organic handling, processing, and record-keeping.

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1 Foundations of Organic Handling
2 Certification
3 Inspection
4 Facility Pest Control & Sanitation
5 Handling, Storage, & Transport
6 Allowed Ingredients & Processing Aids
7 Supplier Management
8 Product Composition & Formulation
9 Labeling & Packaging
10 Importing Organic Products
11 Fraud Prevention
12 Recordkeeping
13 Video Profiles & General Topics

1 Foundations of Organic Handling View All

1.1 Welcome to Organic Handling 1.2 Video: Words of Wisdom on Going Organic 1.3 Who Governs Organic 1.4 Why Get Certified in Organic Handling? 1.5 Who is Required to be Certified as an Organic Handler? 1.6 Video: A Newcomer’s Guide to Organic Handling 1.7 A Newcomer’s Guide to Organic Regulations for Handlers 1.8 Video: The “Why” Behind the Rules

2 Certification View All

2.1 Certification Process Overview 2.2 Certification Timeline for Handling Operations 2.3 Video: Choosing and Working with a Certifier 2.4 Selecting the Right Certifier for You 2.5 Anatomy of a USDA Organic Certificate 2.6 Noncompliances and Adverse Actions

3 Inspection View All

3.1 What to Expect at a Handling Inspection 3.2 Preparing for a Handling Inspection 3.3 Video: Inspections 3.4 Types of Organic Inspections 3.5 What Comes After the Inspection

4 Facility Pest Control & Sanitation View All

4.1 Pest Management in Organic Handling 4.2 Video: Pest Management 4.3 Allowed Materials for Cleaning and Sanitizing 4.4 Effective Equipment Cleaning Procedures

5 Handling, Storage, & Transport View All

5.1 Contamination, Commingling, and Organic Control Points 5.2 Protecting Organic Products During Transport, Receiving, and Shipping 5.3 Protecting Organic Products During Storage 5.4 Protecting Organic Products During Processing and Work-in-Progress 5.5 Preventing Contamination and Commingling in Mixed-Use Facilities 5.6 Video: Managing Split Operations

6 Allowed Ingredients & Processing Aids View All

6.1 Allowed Ingredients and Processing Aids in Organic Products 6.2 Navigating the National List for Allowed Ingredients and Processing Aids 6.3 Verifying Compliant Ingredients and Processing Aids 6.4 Commercial Availability Requirement for Nonorganic Ingredients and Processing Aids 6.5 Documenting Nonorganic Ingredient Use 6.6 Video: Sourcing Ingredients

7 Supplier Management View All

7.1 Building and Maintaining a Supplier Approval Program 7.2 Video: Managing Your Supply Chain 7.3 Managing Uncertified Entities in Your Supply Chain 7.4 Working Effectively with Co-Packers and Co-Manufacturers

8 Product Composition & Formulation View All

8.1 Product Composition – 100% Organic, Organic, and Made with Organic 8.2 Product Formulation and Calculating Organic Content 8.3 Video: Product Formulation and Organic Composition 8.4 Livestock Feed Composition and Product Formulation

9 Labeling & Packaging View All

9.1 Labeling Requirements for Products Intended for Human Use 9.2 Video: Labeling Requirements 9.3 Using the USDA Organic Seal 9.4 Labeling Livestock Feed 9.5 Labeling Requirements for Nonretail Containers 9.6 Packaging Requirements for Organic Products

10 Importing Organic Products View All

10.1 Importing Organic Products Overview 10.2 Video: Importing Organic Products 10.3 The NOP Import Certificate 10.4 Maintaining Organic Integrity for Imported Products 10.5 International Trade Arrangements

11 Fraud Prevention View All

11.1 Understanding Organic Fraud 11.2 Video: Defending the Organic Seal 11.3 Building an Effective Organic Fraud Prevention Plan 11.4 Ongoing Monitoring and Reporting Suspected Fraud 11.5 Using Residue Testing as a Fraud Prevention Tool

12 Recordkeeping View All

12.1 Recordkeeping Requirements for Organic Handlers 12.2 Video: Recordkeeping for Organic Handling 12.3 Designing a Recordkeeping System for Your Operation 12.4 Building and Maintaining an Organic Audit Trail 12.6 The Traceback Audit 12.7 The Mass-Balance Audit

13 Video Profiles & General Topics View All

13.1 Building a Culture of Organic Integrity 13.2 Advice from Experienced Organic Handlers 13.3 Video Profile: Scratch & Peck Feeds 13.4 Video Profile: Nana Joes Granola 13.5 Video Profile: Organically Grown Company 13.6 Video Profile: Cedar Grove Cheese 13.7 Video Profile: Janie’s Mill 13.8 Video Profile: Giant Jones 13.9 Video Profile: Sailer’s Food Market & Meat Processing 99.1 Test Entry — Coming Soon (staging demo)

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