February 4, 2014. The purpose of the USDA BioPreferred program is to promote the increased purchase and use of biobased products. Biobased products, which were defined by the 2002 Farm Bill, are commercial or industrial products (other than food or feed) that are composed in whole, or in significant part, of biological products, renewable agricultural materials (including plant, animal, and marine materials), or forestry materials. With the passage of the 2008 Farm Bill the definition of biobased products was extended to include biobased intermediate ingredients or feedstocks.
The two major initiatives employed by USDA to increase the purchase and use of biobased products focus on (1) procurement preference by Federal Agencies and their contractors, and (2) voluntary product certification and labeling for consumers. Pursuant to the federal procurement preference, the US Government and its contractors are required by law to purchase products that are biobased. Through a regulatory process called designation, the BioPreferred program indentifies which types of products must be afforded this procurement preference. The voluntary labeling initiative is designed to empower individual consumers to evaluate the biobased content of a product and make purchase decisions off of that information. USDA provides strict guidelines regarding the requirements to obtain biobased certification labeling.
To learn more about eligible biobased products as well as USDA requirements for participation in the program, please visit USDA’s BioPreferred. Also, you may contact Goosmann Law at info@goosmannlaw.com or by calling 712.226.4000.