Since its launch in 2002, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) has continued to evolve in response to an ongoing debate within the organic community regarding how organic foods should be defined and regulated. One of the key issues at the center of the debate is the “National List” of substances that are prohibited or permitted to be used in the production, processing, and handling of organic foods. The list identifies all approved exceptions to the assumption that all …