----- forwarded message ----- Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 21:26:29 -0600 From: Teresa Binstock <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: organic cosmetics & shampoo: fact or fiction?
NOSB Member in Collusion with Floral Water Manufacturer to Institute Tap Water as 'Organic' in Cosmetics May Also Be Influencing California SOP Investigation http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/organic_bodycare_pr.cfm FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Downloadable Word Document version available here) http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/PR-061703l.doc CONTACT: Ronnie Cummins 218-226-4164 Monday, June 16, 2003 Adam Eidinger 202-744-2671 NOSB Member in Collusion with Floral Water Manufacturer to Institute Tap Water as 'Organic' in Cosmetics May Also Be Influencing California SOP Investigation LITTLE MARAIS, MN, June 16 -The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) has learned that a member of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), Kim Burton, has a financial conflict of interest related to her role in establishing organic standards for cosmetics. The conflict stems from NOSB's eventual recommendations to the US Department of Agriculture on organic standards for cosmetics. The OCA believes Ms. Burton's role as a consultant to Bayliss Ranch, a California manufacturer of floral waters (hydrosols), demonstrates that she has a clear financial incentive to institute the practice of counting tap water from steam as 'organic' in floral waters. Under the National Organic Program (NOP), non-plant water cannot count as 'organic.' Without clearly stating her financial relationship to Bayliss Ranch at the Organic Trade Association (OTA) Personal Care Task Force (PCTF) meeting in Anaheim, California in March of 2003, Ms. Burton represented the position that added water from steam in floral waters is accurately counted as "organic" in shampoos, conditioners and other body care products. This is in spite of the fact that the main active ingredients in these cosmetics are cleansing and foaming agents in part or wholly derived from petroleum. The NOSB is the public body charged with safe-guarding organic standards and integrity. Since counting water from steam as 'organic' in floral waters is a transparently absurd and contentious issue, the OCA argues that an NOSB board member has no business taking money from one of the interested companies. Furthermore, since the OTA PCTF will recommend organic body care standards to the NOSB for NOSB's review and consideration, Ms. Burton's relationship with Bayliss Ranch is particularly problematic. "Manufacturers of floral waters, such as Bayliss Ranch, stand to financially benefit from watered down 'organic' standards that will dramatically increase demand for these filler ingredients," said Ronnie Cummins, Executive Director of the Organic Consumers Association. "The clear financial gain Bayliss Ranch will derive from Ms. Burton's support for counting water from steam in floral waters as organic should result in Ms. Burton being prohibited from voting on NOSB's recommended organic cosmetic standards." Ms. Burton subsequently pointed out that she had stated in part at the March and May OTA PCTF meetings that she was an "individual" who is "working with" Bayliss Ranch on regulatory issues regarding floral waters. However, this veiled reference did not indicate a formal financial consulting relationship which would be clearly inappropriate for an NOSB board member. The OCA did not discover the depth of Ms. Burton's relationship with Bayliss Ranch until she forwarded a June 2 letter addressed to the Soil Association, to the OTA PCTF. In this letter she discloses that she is a paid consultant to Bayliss Ranch. This conflict of interest is the primary issue and problem, versus whether, when or how Ms. Burton disclosed her relationship to Bayliss Ranch. Procedures outlined on the NOSB's website (http://www.ams.usda.gov/nosb/conflictofinterest.html) state (emphasis added): "That members of the Board shall refrain promoting for consideration any material, process or practice for which the member is or would derive direct financial gain arising out of such Board action. The act of promoting such material, process or practice shall include private discussion with members of the Board advocating the value of the material, public discussion, and/or written advocacy. --more-- "A 'direct financial gain' is defined as monetary consideration, contractual benefit or the expectation of future monetary gain to a Board member including but not limited to financial gain from a party who manufacturers, distributes or holds exclusive title to a formula for a material or product, process or practice." At the May 2003 Austin Texas meeting of the OTA PCTF, Ms. Burton stated that the FDA considers water from steam in floral waters to be a processing aid because this water does not have to be separately disclosed on the label. Upon further review, OCA has found that while the "water" in "flower water" is indeed legally sufficient to disclose the water from the steam, the FDA definition of an "incidental ingredient," which includes "processing aids," is defined first and foremost to be "present in a cosmetic at insignificant levels." 21 CFR 701.3(l)(1) and (2) The water from steam in floral waters cannot in any shape or form be construed as insignificant, and cannot be counted as "organic" when added to a shampoo. Ms. Burton also stated that the Soil Association, the U.K. organic certifier, counts the full weight of floral waters as "organic" in another product like a shampoo. However, Maarten van Perlo, a certification officer who specializes in health and beauty for the Soil Association, stated: "Hydrosols and floral waters are considered water under the Soil Association health and beautycare standards. They are therefore excluded from the calculations when establishing the percentage of organic ingredients in a health and beautycare product." Ms. Burton and/or Other Floral Water Consultants May Be Influencing California SOP Investigation The California State Organic Program (SOP) and the California Department of Health Services have launched an official investigation into misleading 'organic' claims on over 30 body care products manufactured by Avalon Natural Products. The investigation is in response to a formal complaint filed with the SOP on May 5 by the OCA which highlights Avalon's false organic claims which are based on their use of Bayliss Ranch floral water. Unfortunately, the OCA has learned that Ms. Burton is not only a board member of the NOSB, but is also a board member and 'alternate processing representative' on the California Organic Food Advisory Board (COFAB), which directly advises the California SOP. In addition, there are other members of COFAB with financial links to Avalon and Bayliss Ranch. Cummins stated: "We are worried that misleading interpretations of Soil Association and government regulations may confuse and corrupt the SOP investigation into flagrant violations of the letter and spirit of the organic regulations." The added water in floral waters is substantial, unregulated, and may well constitute the majority of the floral water by weight. Body care companies that purchase such floral waters for addition to their synthetic body care products, do so in order to deceptively increase the organic ingredient percentage. In actuality, they are simply diluting the product with water. "Floral waters may contain some amount of organic plant water that can be counted under existing National Organic Program food standards as organic when added to another product, but only if that content can be determined. If this is too impractical, then floral waters should not count at all, as with the Soil Association," said Cummins. "Consumers deserve answers about the percentage of floral water that amounts to ordinary tap water. This water should not be counted when added to another body care product to make deceptive '70% organic' claims." The California Organic Standards Act of 2003 stipulates a mandatory 70 percent minimum weight of non-water/non-salt agricultural organic content in a product for a "Made with Organic" label claim to be made on the front panel, and expressly forbids synthetic ingredients not allowed under the federal NOP. The OCA has demanded that organic body care standards should mirror the standards for organic food products. This means that: " Certified organic agricultural feed-stocks are utilized exclusively, versus petroleum or conventional vegetable feed-stocks, in the manufacture of the key basic cleansing and conditioning ingredients. " Manufacture of such ingredients is reasonably simple and ecological. " The toxicity of each ingredient is minimal. " Non-agricultural water is not counted in any shape or form as contributing to organic content. The OCA is a nationwide non-profit organization of 500,000 organic consumers, deals with issues including organic standards, public health, food safety, sustainable agriculture, and Fair Trade. ORGANIC CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION 6101 CLIFF ESTATE ROAD LITTLE MARAIS, MN 55614 USA Telephone: 218-226-4164 • Fax: 218-353-7652• email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http:// www.organicconsumers.org
