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<regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".11" citation="COMAR 15.22.02.11" title_num="15" subtitle_num="22" chapter_num="02" heading="Handling and Processing Organic Commodities.">
  <paragraph num="A.">
    <text>A processor, packager, manufacturer, or distributor shall handle organic products in accordance with the approved organic handling plan and shall comply with the requirements of §§B—E of this regulation.</text>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="B.">
    <text>Cleaning and Processing.</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>A processor, packager, manufacturer, or distributor shall ensure that:</text>
      <paragraph num="(a)">
        <text>Commodities certified by the Department meet all other applicable United States, Maryland, and local government specifications, inspection standards, and health regulations;</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(b)">
        <text>Before packaging or processing, all commodities are mechanically cleaned to remove used seeds, stones, straws, insects, dust, metal, dirt, and other foreign material in accordance with applicable federal standards;</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(c)">
        <text>Processing facilities meet all other applicable federal, State, and local health requirements; and</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(d)">
        <text>Processed flour does not exceed 43°C as it leaves the milling process.</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>A processor may only process products using:</text>
      <paragraph num="(a)">
        <text>Freezing, drying, vacuum packing, heat processing, centrifuging, filtering, or wood smoking if the wood has not been treated with synthetic chemicals; and</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(b)">
        <text>Stainless steel, glass, or food-grade plastic utensils and containers.</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(3)">
      <text>A processor may not process products using:</text>
      <paragraph num="(a)">
        <text>Aluminum containers or aluminum utensils; or</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(b)">
        <text>Ionizing radiation.</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="C.">
    <text>Raw Ingredients and Additives.</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>A processor, packager, manufacturer, or distributor shall:</text>
      <paragraph num="(a)">
        <text>Use primary ingredients from a certified organic source in any processed product sold, with the primary ingredients comprising at least 95 percent of the final product by weight or volume, excluding water and salt; and</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(b)">
        <text>Specify on each label secondary ingredients from other sources.</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>A processed product sold by a processor, packager, manufacturer, distributor, or retailer as certified organic may include:</text>
      <paragraph num="(a)">
        <text>Only ingredients from certified organic sources, except ingredients that are not agricultural products, such as salt or wild or uncultivated products;</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(b)">
        <text>Wild crops, provided they are managed by an organic farm plan which:</text>
        <paragraph num="(i)">
          <text>Designates the area from which the wild crop will be gathered or harvested,</text>
        </paragraph>
        <paragraph num="(ii)">
          <text>Includes a 3-year history of the management of the area showing that any substance prohibited by this subtitle has not been applied,</text>
        </paragraph>
        <paragraph num="(iii)">
          <text>Includes a plan for the harvesting or gathering of the wild crops, assuring that this harvesting or gathering is not destructive to the environment and will sustain the growth and production of the wild crop, and</text>
        </paragraph>
        <paragraph num="(iv)">
          <text>Includes provisions that the producer may not apply any substance prohibited by this subtitle;</text>
        </paragraph>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(c)">
        <text>Yeasts or other microbial cultures; or</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(d)">
        <text>Minimal levels of natural sweeteners or salt.</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(3)">
      <text>A processed product sold by a processor, packager, manufacturer, distributor, or retailer as organic may include the following secondary ingredients, if approved by the Department, based on a claim that these ingredients are necessary to preserve or to enhance the product:</text>
      <paragraph num="(a)">
        <text>Natural sweeteners or salt, including organically produced honey, maple syrup, or other natural sweeteners, in an amount greater than that necessary for processing;</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(b)">
        <text>Natural preservatives, coloring agents, or other additives, such as natural ascorbic acid or beet juice;</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(c)">
        <text>Thickeners, including pectins, or gelatins; or</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(d)">
        <text>Carob gum, guar gum, potato starch, corn starch, or carrageenan.</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(4)">
      <text>A processed product sold by a processor, packager, manufacturer, distributor, or retailer as certified organic may not include:</text>
      <paragraph num="(a)">
        <text>Synthetic preservatives, coloring, flavoring, texturizers, emulsifiers, or additives of any kind;</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(b)">
        <text>Ingredients containing sulfites, nitrites, nitrates, microelements, heavy metals, or toxic residues; or</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(c)">
        <text>Water that does not meet all federal Safe Drinking Water Act requirements.</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="D.">
    <text>Packaging of Organic Commodities.</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>Packaging material for organic commodities shall be free of fungicides, preservatives, or other chemical additives. Plastics subject to depolymerization may not be used as packaging material.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>Milled products shall indicate the lot number and the date of processing shown as a Julian date.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="E.">
    <text>Storage and Transportation. A producer, processor, distributor, or retailer:</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>May not use any packaging materials, storage containers, or bins that contain synthetic fungicides, preservatives, or fumigants;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>May not use any bag or container that previously had been in contact with any substance in such a manner as to compromise the organic quality of the product;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(3)">
      <text>Shall provide reused containers with protective liners as approved by the Department;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(4)">
      <text>Shall protect from birds, rodents, and other pests areas for storage of organic commodities; and</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(5)">
      <text>May use diatomaceous earth, bacillus thuringiensis, pheromones, or other natural biological controls in storage areas or during transportation.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
</regulation>