Organic poultry, including birds used for meat or eggs, lose their organic status if they are removed from the organic farm and managed on a non-organic operation.
In order to be sold as organic, NOP Final Rule Section 205.236 requires that poultry or edible poultry products must be from poultry that has been under continuous organic management beginning no later than the second day of life. Livestock: Under the NOP Final Rule, livestock are defined as “any cattle, sheep, goat, swine, poultry, or equine animals used for the production of food, fiber, feed, or other agricultural-based consumer products wild or domesticated game or other non-plant life, except such term shall not include aquatic animals and bees for the production of food, fiber, feed, or other agricultural-based consumer products.” Conversion of Birds to Organic Production Organic Production: The NOP Final Rule defines organic production as "a production system that is managed…to respond to site-specific conditions by integrating cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity." This means that, in order to be certified for organic production of livestock or poultry, producers must use cultural, biological, and/or mechanical practices and employ ecological principles, such as natural resource conservation and recycling of resources. Organic integrity must be protected by preventing organic birds and poultry products from coming in contact with prohibited substances or being commingled with non-organic products. Detailed records of all feeds, medications, and transactions must be maintained.
All organic poultry production and processing operations, including slaughter plants and egg handling facilities, must be certified by USDA-accredited certification agencies. The use of growth hormones, antibiotics, genetic engineering, and animal cloning is prohibited, as is the feeding of slaughter byproducts. Medical treatment cannot be withheld from sick animals or flocks to maintain the birds' organic status. Organic poultry producers must establish preventative livestock health management practices. All poultry must have access to the outdoors. All agricultural components of the feed ration, including kelp and carriers in feed supplements, must be 100% organic. To sell organic eggs or poultry meat, birds must be fed and managed organically from the second day after hatching. In short, all organic poultry operations that sell over $5000 of organic products per year, and those who wish to sell their products to be used as organic ingredients or organic feed by others, must be certified by a USDA-accredited certifying agent. This article explains the requirements for the production and labeling of poultry products as organic in the United States.
#Organic poultry farm code
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), in cooperation with accredited certification agencies, regulates the production and labeling of organic poultry products under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 and the National Organic Program (NOP), Section 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 205, also known as the NOP Final Rule. In order to be sold in the United States as organic, all agricultural products–including domestic and imported poultry products–must comply with Federal regulations. Jim Riddle, Organic Independents LLP Introduction
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