USDA’s organic food label, the gold standard for shopper wanting food free of genetically modified organisms and chemical pesticides, “has come under increasing attack as a handful of consumer groups question the USDA’s handling of the National Organic Standards Board,” says Roll Call. “Over the past several years, some watchdog organizations, notably the Wisconsin-based Cornucopia Institute, have criticized the agency for tweaking procedural rules and “stacking” the board with members Cornucopia perceives as lenient and more inclined to allow synthetic substances in organic production”
Kathleen Merrigan, former deputy agriculture secretary and an author of the 1990 law, told Roll Call there are strong safeguards for organic food standards. USDA says that since 2008, five synthetics have been added to the list of materials that can be used by organic producers and 40 synthetic and non-synthetic materials have been removed, denied inclusion or put under greater restrictions.