New rules on organic wine in US may ‘harm’ industry

New certification rules on organic wine sold in the US that have recently come into effect could cause “widespread harm to the organic wine and spirits industry”, the industry has warned. 

The new rules, which came into force last month (19 September) after a six month grace period, state than wine importers selling organic in the US must obtain organic certification – even though the wine itself has been produced and bottled under organic certification in its country of origin – labels recognised by the USDA.

The Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) regulations were first announced in January 2023, “to better protect organic businesses and consumers,” the USDA said at the time, and prevent fraud, however, part of the confusion arises from the fact that the rules are not specific to wine. Wine is treated within the “processed product” category under the rules (the others are  crops, livestock and wild crops ), and therefore subject to the same rules as products such as soup or salad.

Previously, it was only necessary for the vineyards and winery that produced and bottled the wine to be certified as organic. However, the new rules extend this requirement to importers, even though for wine, they are not involved in handling the product or bottling it themselves.

The Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) regulations were first announced in January 2023, “to better protect organic businesses and consumers,” the USDA said at the time. However, part of the confusion is that the rules are not specific to wine, which is treated as a “processed product” under the rules, and therefore subject to the same rules as products such as soup or salad.

Importers who don’t have certification won’t be able to market the wine as organic.  If they continue to market it as organic without the additional certification, the importer as well as the original foreign wineries may face penalties, ranging from being held at customs, potential fines, or cease-and-desist orders.

The new regulations have caused concern that it will make it more difficult for consumers to know if the product is organic or not.

The change aims to prevent fraud in the supply chain, the USDA said, and ensure a level playing field, with all those in organic product market subject to the same regulations.  They were originally due to come into effect in March this year, but were extended for six months, however a letter from bipartisan members of Congress to the Deputy Administrator of the National Organic Program published two weeks ago, cited a four-month backlog for businesses certifying.

The letter was led by the congressman for New York’s Finger Lakes region, Nick Langworthy, along with eight members of congress from both parties. They called for an extension of the grace period to allow them to obtain certification, saying that not doing so “could cause widespread harm to the organic wine and spirits industry”.

The fear is that the rules will disproportionately hit smaller importers who don’t have the resources to obtain the right certification and may therefore be forced to stop  marketing organic wines. It may also cause European producers to drop the organic label from products destined for the US market, thereby reducing choice for consumers.

The Wine and spirit wholesalers of America (WSWA) warned that “without  immediate action, wine and spirits importers and distributors face economic consequences due to the inability to bring products into the country, and many businesses may be forced to reconsider their investment in organic products just as consumers are gravitating toward them.”

According to the latest reports, around 1,800 “handling operations” in the U.S. are certified, but there is a backlog in those gaining certification.

Last month, members of congress called on the USDA to A bipartisan group of key members of Congress today called on the USDA to extend the certification deadline under the National Organic Program’s (NOP) Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) rule, which could ca