OMRI at 30: Material Review and the Questions Shaping U.S. Organic Standards
By Orsi Dézsi, OMRI Executive Director
Looking ahead to 2027, the organic community in North America has two significant milestones to celebrate: 25 years since the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program standards were fully implemented, and the 30th anniversary of the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI). These anniversaries offer an opportunity to reflect on the institutions and collaborations that have supported the growth of the organic sector.
OMRI is an independent nonprofit organization based in the United States and dedicated to reviewing input materials for organic production and processing. These include but are not limited to fertilizers, pest control products, livestock health care products and processing aids. OMRI assesses brand name products against the applicable organic standards, providing information that supports certifiers’ decisions about their use.
Founded in 1997 by organic certifiers and industry representatives, OMRI grew out of a shared need for consistent, specialized input review. That purpose remains central to our work: providing reliable materials assessments that support certification and strengthen trust in organic production.
Products found to comply are included on the OMRI Products List® and may display the OMRI Listed® seal. The list currently includes 10,952 products from 2,540 suppliers in 61 countries. While certifiers make the final decision on whether an input may be used by a certified operation, starting with a product that appears in the OMRI Products List significantly simplifies the organic certification process. OMRI also reviews products against the Canada Organic Regime (COR) standards. Many input manufacturers outside North America, including in Europe, seek OMRI listing to serve two groups: organic producers in the United States and Canada, and producers elsewhere who export organic products to those markets. A review by OMRI is completely voluntary for product manufacturers. OMRI is a material review organization (MRO), rather than an organic certification body accredited by USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP). OMRI holds accreditation from the USDA Quality Assessment Division to ISO/IEC 17065, the international standard establishing requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services.
How Input Review Connects to the Organic Standards
Independent review depends on clear standards, and those standards require ongoing attention as science, production practices and market conditions change.
In the United States, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) plays an important advisory role in this process. Its 15 volunteer members represent farmers, processors, retailers, environmental and consumer interests, scientists and certifiers. The Board evaluates materials, considers broader policy questions, and makes recommendations to the USDA. Public participation is integral to its work, with opportunities to provide written and oral comments before and during its twice-yearly meetings.
A central responsibility for the NOSB is reviewing substances currently included on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances. Through the “sunset review” process, each listing must be reviewed every five years to assess whether it continues to meet the required criteria. The NOSB also considers proposed additions and removals.
OMRI contributes technical expertise to this process, including through USDA-commissioned technical reports. These reports provide scientific information to support the Board’s deliberations.
Two topics on the agenda for the October 27–29, 2026 meeting illustrate the complexity of this work: induced mutagenesis and ivermectin.
Induced Mutagenesis
Induced mutagenesis encompasses methods that deliberately create genetic mutations. Such methods could include exposure to chemicals such as colchicine or radiation (physical method). Breeders can then select organisms with desirable traits for further breeding. OMRI prepared a technical report on these methods for the USDA in 2023, and this report informs the NOSB on many of the issues surrounding these methods.
The NOSB has been considering whether induced mutagenesis should be classified as an “excluded method”. Excluded methods are genetic modification techniques prohibited in U.S. organic production. In its fall 2026 discussion document, the Materials Subcommittee of the NOSB recommends deferring a determination, citing challenges of verifying whether IM methods were used. There is also a real concern that organic seed availability could not meet demand at this time if seed varieties developed using IM become prohibited (right now non-organic, non-genetically modified seed is allowed if organic seed is not commercially available). The NOSB’s Materials Subcommittee proposes revisiting the issue when market conditions can support implementation with fewer risks to organic producers.
In the EU, a 2018 ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (Case C 528/16) held that organisms obtained through mutagenesis are GMOs, but that those produced using techniques with a long safety record are exempt from EU GMO legislation. As a result, the GMO prohibition in EU organic rules does not extend to varieties developed through conventional mutagenesis (i.e., induced mutagenesis).
The discussion highlights the challenge of translating organic principles into requirements that can be verified and implemented in practice.
Ivermectin and New World Screwworm
The NOSB’s Livestock Subcommittee proposes returning ivermectin, a synthetic parasiticide removed from the National List in 2019, for the treatment of New World Screwworm (NWS) only. This proposal will be discussed at their fall 2026 meeting.
New World Screwworm is a parasitic fly whose larvae feed on living tissue, causing potentially severe or fatal injuries to livestock and wildlife. It has spread northward through Central America, Mexico and into the southwestern United States, prompting emergency measures in the United States. The proposal raises an important distinction between prevention and treatment. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) emergency use authorizations for injectable ivermectin products, such as Ivomec, permit prevention of infestation in specified cattle. They do not authorize ivermectin treatment of existing infestation.
The proposed organic allowance, however, specifies allowance for treatment, a use the FDA’s emergency use authorizations do not cover. At the same time, the USDA organic regulations permit synthetic medications only in the presence of illness or to alleviate pain and suffering, which rules out preventive use, and they require animal drugs to be used in accordance with federal law. As drafted, the proposed organic allowance does not align with the uses covered by these emergency authorizations.
The case shows how organic standards must work alongside other regulatory systems, particularly when an animal welfare emergency is involved.
As in any other case, OMRI’s role is to provide technical information and evaluate materials against the organic regulations. OMRI does not advocate for or against allowing ivermectin. OMRI identifies where the proposed allowance and existing requirements may not align, so that whatever is ultimately adopted can be clearly understood and consistently applied.
Looking Ahead
The questions now before the NOSB show that organic standards are never finished. Developing standards requires sound technical evidence, an understanding of how producers work, and attention to how organic rules interact with other regulatory systems.
As the USDA organic standards approach their 25th anniversary, and OMRI its 30th in 2027, we are grateful to the certifiers, producers, suppliers and organizations who built this system and continue to sustain it. OMRI’s role remains what its founders intended: independent, consistent review of the materials organic producers rely on. The issues will continue to evolve, but the purpose remains constant: supporting the integrity that gives organic meaning.
