Meeting Demand for Organic Produce Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7406 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7406

To amend the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 to provide producers
with the option to confirm the absence of prohibited substances through
                    testing, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 5, 2026

 Mr. Newhouse introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To amend the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 to provide producers
with the option to confirm the absence of prohibited substances through
                    testing, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Meeting Demand for Organic Produce
Act''.

SEC. 2. OPTION TO CONFIRM THE ABSENCE OF PROHIBITED SUBSTANCES THROUGH
              TESTING.

    (a) National Standards for Organic Production.--Section 2105 of the
Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6504) is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``shall''; and
                    (B) by striking ``To be'' and inserting the
                following:
    ``(a) In General.--To be'';
            (2) in subsection (a) (as so designated)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``shall'' before
                ``have been'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) by striking ``products; and'' and
                        inserting ``product; or'';
                            (ii) by striking ``livestock, not'' and
                        inserting the following: ``livestock--
                    ``(A) shall not''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) shall be produced in soil or another growing
                medium that has been confirmed prior to the time of
                planting to contain no prohibited substances, including
                synthetic chemicals, through testing or other methods
                certified by the Secretary to verify the absence of
                prohibited substances in the growing medium; and''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``shall'' before
                ``be produced''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Guidelines and Criteria.--Not later than 60 days after the
date of enactment of the Meeting Demand for Organic Produce Act, the
Secretary shall issue an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking to
develop guidelines and criteria for approved verification methods
described in subsection (a)(2)(B) to ensure accuracy and reliability
with respect to the testing described in that subsection.''.
    (b) Management of Wild Crops.--Section 2114(f) of the Organic Foods
Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6513(f)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (4) as
        subparagraphs (A) through (D), respectively, and indenting
        appropriately;
            (2) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) (as so
        redesignated), by striking ``An organic'' and inserting the
        following:
            ``(1) In general.--An organic'';
            (3) in paragraph (1)(B) (as so redesignated)--
                    (A) by adding ``or'' after the semicolon at the
                end;
                    (B) by striking ``include a 3 year'' and inserting
                the following: ``include--
                            ``(i) a 3-year''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(ii) a certification that the soil or
                        other growing medium of the area has been
                        confirmed prior to the time of planting to
                        contain no prohibited substances, including
                        synthetic chemicals, through testing or other
                        methods certified by the Secretary to verify
                        the absence of prohibited substances in the
                        growing medium;''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Guidelines and criteria.--Not later than 60 days
        after the date of enactment of the Meeting Demand for Organic
        Produce Act, the Secretary shall issue an advanced notice of
        proposed rulemaking to develop guidelines and criteria for
        approved verification methods described in paragraph (1)(B)(ii)
        to ensure accuracy and reliability with respect to the testing
        described in that paragraph.''.
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