Organic mushroom growers and trade groups have criticized a proposed rule announced last month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that would rescind the National Organic Program's recently adopted Market Development for Mushrooms and Pet Food regulations. The regulations, issued in December, were intended to address inconsistencies in standards used to certify organic mushrooms and pet food, with the goal of instilling greater consumer confidence in the processes used to produce them.
"Reversing the recently established framework for organic mushroom and pet food production will undermine the domestic organic market and harm U.S. farmers by hampering market development and eroding trust in the organic seal," Rebekah Weber, policy director for California Certified Organic Farmers, said in a June 4 letter to the National Organic Program Standards Division, which is part of USDA.
Mushroom growers and organic trade groups say the 2024 regulations were developed through a years-long process that involved close collaboration with farmers and industry stakeholders.
"We as an industry decided that's how we'd like to set it up—the standards that we put in place for ourselves to follow," said Ian Garrone, CEO of Far West Fungi, an organic specialty mushroom farm in Monterey County that supplies grocery retailers such as Safeway and Whole Foods.
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