# COMAR Title 15 — Maryland Department of Agriculture ## Subtitle 22 — Organically Produced Commodities ### Chapter 02 — Organic Product Standards **Authority:** Agriculture Article, §§10-602 and 10-1402, Annotated Code of Maryland **Administrative History:** Effective date: **Administrative History:** Regulations .01—.12 adopted as an emergency provision effective May 21, 1991 (18:12 Md. R. 1318); emergency status expired December 1, 1991; adopted permanently effective April 13, 1992 (19:7 Md. R. 746) **Administrative History:** Regulation .04 amended as an emergency provision effective January 30, 2001 (28:4 Md. R. 415); amended permanently effective May 14, 2001 (28:9 Md. R. 888) **Administrative History:** Regulation .04C, D adopted as an emergency provision effective May 19, 1995 (22:12 Md. R. 897); emergency status extended at 22:19 Md. R. 1470; adopted permanently effective October 9, 1995 (22:20 Md. R. 1545) **Administrative History:** Regulation .05 amended as an emergency provision effective January 30, 2001 (28:4 Md. R. 415); amended permanently effective May 14, 2001 (28:9 Md. R. 888) **Administrative History:** Regulation .07B amended as an emergency provision effective May 19, 1995 (22:12 Md. R. 897); emergency status extended at 22:19 Md. R. 1470; adopted permanently effective October 9, 1995 (22:20 Md. R. 1545) **Administrative History:** Regulation .08 amended as an emergency provision effective January 30, 2001 (28:4 Md. R. 415); amended permanently effective May 14, 2001 (28:9 Md. R. 888) **Administrative History:** Regulation .08A amended and G adopted as an emergency provision effective May 19, 1995 (22:12 Md. R. 897); emergency status extended at 22:19 Md. R. 1470; adopted permanently effective October 9, 1995 (22:20 Md. R. 1545) **Administrative History:** Regulation .09 amended as an emergency provision effective January 30, 2001 (28:4 Md. R. 415); amended permanently effective May 14, 2001 (28:9 Md. R. 888) **Administrative History:** Regulation .11 amended as an emergency provision effective January 30, 2001 (28:4 Md. R. 415); amended permanently effective May 14, 2001 (28:9 Md. R. 888) **Administrative History:** Regulation .11C amended as an emergency provision effective May 19, 1995 (22:12 Md. R. 897); emergency status extended at 22:19 Md. R. 1470; adopted permanently effective October 9, 1995 (22:20 Md. R. 1545) #### Regulation .01 Scope. *COMAR 15.22.02.01* A. The purpose of these regulations is to establish standards that producers, processors, distributors, and retailers shall follow in order to have products which they have either produced or are handling certified as organic under the Department of Agriculture's organic certification program. B. Producers are required to implement an organic farm plan which concentrates on sustainable farming practices. These practices include the use of cover crops, recycled animal and plant matter, beneficial insects, crop rotation, and green manures to build and maintain soil fertility and to control major pests. C. These regulations also denote what the processor, distributor, and retailer shall do in order to have products they are marketing as organic under the Department's program continue in that status, such as the implementation of an organic handling plan. #### Regulation .02 Organic Farm Plan. *COMAR 15.22.02.02* A producer shall manage a farm in accordance with an organic farm plan that meets the requirements of this subtitle. #### Regulation .03 Soil Management. *COMAR 15.22.02.03* A. Soil Fertility. A producer shall promote soil fertility. B. Crop Rotation. (1) A producer shall rotate all crops, except crops that are: (a) Perennials; (b) Included in a permaculture system; (c) Grown in containers; or (d) Grown on a nonrotating basis as approved by the Department as part of the farm plan. (2) A producer shall maintain a soil cover during the nonproducing season. The producer may use crop residue, mulch, or green manure crops. (3) Rotation Plan. A producer shall build and maintain balanced nutrient levels in the soil using such methods as: (a) Alternation of crops; (b) Green manure crops; (c) Cover crops and nurse crops; (d) Crops with deep roots to stabilize the soil and bring nutrients from the subsoil; (e) Alternation of plants that use large quantities or small quantities of nutrients; (f) Plants with allelochemic or mineral-accumulating properties; and (g) Plantings which fix or bind nitrogen. C. Manuring. (1) A producer may not apply raw manure in a way that significantly contributes to water contamination by nitrates or bacteria, such as applying it to frozen ground. (2) A producer may apply raw manure to: (a) Green manure crops; (b) Perennial crops; (c) Crops not for human consumption; or (d) Crops for human consumption, if the crop is harvested 120 days or more following the most recent manure application. (3) A producer may use manure composted either by aerobic digestion or controlled fermentation, or both. (4) A producer may use liquid manure slurry if the slurry is aerated by adding carbon to the slurry. Its application is limited in the same manner as the application of raw manure as provided in this regulation. #### Regulation .04 Soil Amendments and Fertilizers. *COMAR 15.22.02.04* A. A producer may use any of the substances or practices in §B of this regulation. B. A producer shall follow label instructions, when applicable, when using the following substances: (1) Adjuvants and wetting agents (organic); (2) Animal manures; (3) Biodynamic preparations; (4) Blood meal; (5) Bone meal; (6) Boron/borax; (7) Chelates and fritted trace elements; (8) Composts; (9) Diatomaceous earth; (10) Dolomite; (11) Epsom salts; (12) Fallowing; (13) Fish emulsion; (14) Fish meal; (15) Gibberellic acid and other naturally occurring growth regulators; (16) Green manures; (17) Greensand; (18) Ground oyster, clam, lobster, crab shells; (19) Gypsum; (20) Hoof and horn meal (low lead); (21) Kelp or seaweed meals, extracts, and algae; (22) Legumes as cover crops; (23) Limestone; (24) Microbial compost or soil inoculants; (25) Micronutrients (dry and foliar); (26) Molybdenum (various); (27) Mulches; (28) Peat moss; (29) Perlite; (30) Potassium sulfate; (31) Rock or colloidal phosphate (low heavy metals); (32) Sawdust; (33) Sulfate of iron, manganese, and molybdenum; (34) Sulfate of zinc, boron, copper; (35) Sulfur (elemental); (36) Sul po mag (langbeinite); (37) Vermiculite; (38) Wood ashes; (39) Worm castings; or (40) Any other substance or practice approved by the Department. C. A producer may not apply any allowed soil amendment or fertilizer at a rate that exceeds that recommended by an agency or a laboratory approved by the Department. D. A producer shall forward to the Department the label and any other instructions for any product approved by the Department but not listed in this regulation. #### Regulation .05 Seeds, Seedlings, and Planting Stock. *COMAR 15.22.02.05* A. A producer may grow a crop conventionally on the same farm used to grow a certified product only if the crop grown conventionally is visually different from those crops grown organically. B. A producer shall use plant propagules produced according to the organic standards as provided in this subtitle. C. Seeds and Planting Stock. (1) General Rule. To the extent feasible, a producer shall use organically produced seeds and planting stock, including: (a) Bulbs; (b) Plant material derived through tissue culture; and (c) Tubers. (2) Use of Untreated, Nonorganically Produced Materials. If the use of organically produced seeds and planting stock is not feasible, a producer may use the following untreated, nonorganically produced materials to produce an organic crop: (a) Bulbs; (b) Plant material derived through tissue culture; (c) Tubers; and (d) Seeds, except those used for sprouts. (3) Use of Treated, Nonorganically Produced Materials. (a) Except as provided in §C(3)(b) of this regulation, a producer may not use treated, nonorganically produced materials to produce an organic crop. (b) For each of the following limited reasons, a producer may use treated, nonorganically produced bulbs, crowns, seeds, shoots, slips, tissue culture plants, and tubers to produce an organic crop: (i) Treatments limited to fungicides; (ii) Commercial unavailability of untreated seeds or other organically produced planting stock of the same variety, and documentation of the producer's efforts to source untreated seeds or planting stock; (iii) Use of treated seeds, as required by phytosanitary regulations, necessary to prevent endemic diseases; or (iv) An unanticipated or emergency circumstance that makes it infeasible to obtain untreated seeds or other planting stock. (4) Annual Seedlings and Transplants. Unless organic seedlings or planting stock have been destroyed by a natural disaster or other unanticipated circumstance, a producer shall organically produce annual seedlings and transplants. (5) Perennial Crops. For perennial crops, a producer may use nonorganically produced planting stock to produce a crop which may be sold, labeled, or represented as organically produced only if the planting stock has been maintained under a system of organic management on a certified organic farm for a period of not less than 1 year. (6) Prohibited Sources of Planting Stock. (a) Except in cases of emergency, if transplants are destroyed by frost, flood, or other natural disaster, a producer is prohibited from using annual transplants that have not been produced according to the standards set forth in this regulation. (b) In cases of emergency, a producer shall notify the Department immediately regarding an emergency and submit the notification in writing within 7 days. (c) The Department shall verify the emergency conditions and determine a maximum length of time during which the organic producer may use annual transplants that have not been produced according to these standards. (d) A producer may not use genetically engineered seeds, seedlings, and planting stock. #### Regulation .06 Irrigation. *COMAR 15.22.02.06* A. In areas where irrigation is necessary or desired, a producer shall include in the application for a certification permit and the farm plan an analysis of water quality and soil salinization. B. A producer who irrigates and who is suspected by the Department to have a water-quality or soil-salinization problem shall: (1) Retest for water quality or soil salinization, as required by the Department; and (2) Submit tissue-test results for at least one edible crop produced each year until a residue from water contaminated with a substance prohibited by this subtitle is not found in the crop, and at least every third year after that. #### Regulation .07 Tillage and Weed Control. *COMAR 15.22.02.07* A. A producer may use, subject to applicable label instructions: (1) Timely mechanical or hand cultivation; (2) Crop rotations and use of smother crops; (3) Mowing; (4) Mulches (organic); (5) Practices that prevent introduction of weed seeds into fields, such as mowing borders, cleaning equipment, and use of weed-free inputs; (6) Companion cropping or intercropping; (7) Electrical or flame weeding equipment; (8) Grazing; (9) Row covers; (10) Isolation techniques; (11) Biological agents or predators; (12) Cover cropping; (13) Soap-based herbicides; or (14) Control of Maryland designated noxious weeds, as required by Agriculture Article, Title 9, Subtitle 4, Annotated Code of Maryland. B. If justified and approved by the Department as part of the farm plan, a producer may use: (1) Film mulches, provided these mulches after use are properly disposed of or held for recycling; (2) Mulches made of newspapers; or (3) A living or natural mulch. C. A producer may not use: (1) Synthetic herbicides or growth regulators; or (2) Micronutrients at levels which cause significant adverse effects to plants. #### Regulation .08 Pest and Disease Control. *COMAR 15.22.02.08* A. A producer may use the following practices and substances consistent with applicable label instructions: (1) Adjuvants and wetting agents (organic); (2) Allelochemics (attractants, deterrents, repellants, locomotor stimulants, and convalescents); (3) Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.); (4) Beneficial insects, predators, parasites; (5) Biological pesticides and emulsifiers or synergists; (5-1) Cryolite; (6) Cultural practices (timing, environments); (7) Diatomaceous earth; (8) Dormant oils; (9) Elemental sulfur or liquid sulfur; (10) Fiber row covers; (11) Fungicidal soaps; (12) Garlic, hot peppers, or pureed plants; (13) Growth regulators, only if organically derived; (14) Herbal or plant-derived controls (deer repellent); (15) Hydrogen peroxide; (16) Insect extracts or purees; (17) Lime sulfur, including calcium polysulfide; (18) Mechanical or electrical controls; (19) Microbial or viral agents; (20) Micronutrients, with toxicity to be avoided; (21) Natural barriers, which include fencing and protective coatings from approved natural products; (21-1) Neem; (21-2) Pesticides from naturally occurring organisms; (22) Pheromones; (23) Physical barriers; (24) Pyrethrums, if from a botanical source; (25) Quassias; (26) Resistant varieties; (27) 1 percent Rotenone; (28) Ryania; (29) Ryania, pyrethrum, and rotenone blends, if from a botanical source; (30) Sabadilla; (31) Seed inoculants; (32) Soaps; (33) Sound; (34) Summer oils; (35) Supplemental feeding or management techniques; (36) Timing of plantings; (37) Trapping substances; (38) Tree seals; (39) Vacuuming; (40) Viral sprays; or (41) Vitamins. B. A producer may use the following substances and practices subject to applicable label instructions, but only for the purpose listed for each: (1) Arsenic, which may only be used in pressure-treated wood but not for growing boxes; (2) Baking soda and vinegar, which may be used for sanitation only; (3) Boric acid, which may not be used on edible plant parts; (4) Chlorine bleach, which may only be used as a disinfectant; (5) Dormant oils (woody dormant); (6) Hydrated lime, which may be used only as a foliar fungicide; (7) Lime sulfur, which may be used only as a foliar fungicide; or (8) Summer oil, which may not be used as a herbicide. C. If approved by the Department as part of the farm plan, a producer may use the following substances subject to applicable label instructions: (1) Streptomycin, with overuse to be avoided; (2) Treated seeds; (3) Bordeaux mixture; (4) Copper hydroxide; (5) Copper sulfate; (6) Cupric oxide; or (7) Tribasic copper formulations. D. A producer using any of the copper-containing products listed in §C(3)—(7) of this regulation shall monitor the soil to avoid copper buildup. E. A producer may use traps containing pesticides prohibited by this subtitle that do not contact, and are not added to, soil or water. F. An organic producer may not use: (1) Synthetically compounded pesticides; (2) Nonsynthetic compounds, such as: (a) Arsenic; (b) Ash from manure burning; (c) Lead salts; (d) Sodium floualuminate (mined); (e) Strychnine; or (f) Tobacco dust, or nicotine-based products; or (3) Genetically engineered or modified organisms. G. A producer shall forward to the Department before use the label and any other instructions for a product not listed in this regulation. #### Regulation .09 Buffer Zone. *COMAR 15.22.02.09* A. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a producer shall maintain at least a 25-foot buffer zone separating land in a farm unit being managed organically from other land. B. A producer may be required by the Department to maintain a buffer zone wider than 25 feet and to take other precautionary measures if the use of the adjacent land presents a threat to the organic status of the farm unit. #### Regulation .10 Fertility Testing and Monitoring. *COMAR 15.22.02.10* A. The Department may conduct soil and tissue tests at the producer's expense to determine fertility or to evaluate a producer's soil management methods. B. At the producer's expense, the Department may test for heavy metals or other suspected contaminants in the soil and subsoil of any field that receives substantial amounts of manure from off-farm sources. #### Regulation .11 Handling and Processing Organic Commodities. *COMAR 15.22.02.11* A. 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. B. Cleaning and Processing. (1) A processor, packager, manufacturer, or distributor shall ensure that: (a) Commodities certified by the Department meet all other applicable United States, Maryland, and local government specifications, inspection standards, and health regulations; (b) 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; (c) Processing facilities meet all other applicable federal, State, and local health requirements; and (d) Processed flour does not exceed 43°C as it leaves the milling process. (2) A processor may only process products using: (a) Freezing, drying, vacuum packing, heat processing, centrifuging, filtering, or wood smoking if the wood has not been treated with synthetic chemicals; and (b) Stainless steel, glass, or food-grade plastic utensils and containers. (3) A processor may not process products using: (a) Aluminum containers or aluminum utensils; or (b) Ionizing radiation. C. Raw Ingredients and Additives. (1) A processor, packager, manufacturer, or distributor shall: (a) 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 (b) Specify on each label secondary ingredients from other sources. (2) A processed product sold by a processor, packager, manufacturer, distributor, or retailer as certified organic may include: (a) Only ingredients from certified organic sources, except ingredients that are not agricultural products, such as salt or wild or uncultivated products; (b) Wild crops, provided they are managed by an organic farm plan which: (i) Designates the area from which the wild crop will be gathered or harvested, (ii) Includes a 3-year history of the management of the area showing that any substance prohibited by this subtitle has not been applied, (iii) 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 (iv) Includes provisions that the producer may not apply any substance prohibited by this subtitle; (c) Yeasts or other microbial cultures; or (d) Minimal levels of natural sweeteners or salt. (3) 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: (a) Natural sweeteners or salt, including organically produced honey, maple syrup, or other natural sweeteners, in an amount greater than that necessary for processing; (b) Natural preservatives, coloring agents, or other additives, such as natural ascorbic acid or beet juice; (c) Thickeners, including pectins, or gelatins; or (d) Carob gum, guar gum, potato starch, corn starch, or carrageenan. (4) A processed product sold by a processor, packager, manufacturer, distributor, or retailer as certified organic may not include: (a) Synthetic preservatives, coloring, flavoring, texturizers, emulsifiers, or additives of any kind; (b) Ingredients containing sulfites, nitrites, nitrates, microelements, heavy metals, or toxic residues; or (c) Water that does not meet all federal Safe Drinking Water Act requirements. D. Packaging of Organic Commodities. (1) 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. (2) Milled products shall indicate the lot number and the date of processing shown as a Julian date. E. Storage and Transportation. A producer, processor, distributor, or retailer: (1) May not use any packaging materials, storage containers, or bins that contain synthetic fungicides, preservatives, or fumigants; (2) 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; (3) Shall provide reused containers with protective liners as approved by the Department; (4) Shall protect from birds, rodents, and other pests areas for storage of organic commodities; and (5) May use diatomaceous earth, bacillus thuringiensis, pheromones, or other natural biological controls in storage areas or during transportation. #### Regulation .12 Post-Harvest Handling. *COMAR 15.22.02.12* A. Upon prior written approval by the Department, a producer, shipper, packer, or other handler of organic products may: (1) Apply disinfectants, as specified by the Department, to storage containers and handling equipment; or (2) Apply post-harvest sulfur-based fungicides or botanical insecticides. B. A producer, shipper, packer, or other handler of organic products may not apply to certified products at any point during post-harvest handling, transporting, or storage: (1) Synthetic fumigants; (2) Sprouting inhibitors, ripeners, or growth regulators; (3) Preservatives; (4) Coloring agents; (5) Ionizing radiation; or (6) Waxes, except beeswax, or oils.