H.R. 7406

119 HR 7406 IH: Meeting Demand for Organic Produce Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2026-02-05
 text/xml
 EN
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 I  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  H. R. 7406  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.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Meeting Demand for Organic Produce Act  .
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.
 .