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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