A

Accreditation.
A determination made by the Secretary that authorizes a private, foreign, or State entity to conduct certification activities as a certifying agent under this part. (NOP definition)

Act.
The Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, as amended (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.). (NOP definition)

Actinomycete.
One of a class of bacteria largely responsible for the decomposition of organic matter in soil, and thus for the production of humus and replenishing soil nutrients.

Action level.
The limit at or above which the Food and Drug Administration will take legal action against a product to remove it from the market. Action levels are based on unavoidability of the poisonous or deleterious substances and do not represent permissible levels of contamination where it is avoidable. (NOP definition)

Administrator.
The Administrator for the Agricultural Marketing Service, United States Departure of Agriculture, or the representative to whom authority has been delegated to act in the stead of the Administrator. (NOP definition)

Aggregates, soil.
The building blocks formed when soil minerals and organic matter are bound together.

Agricultural inputs.
All substances or materials used in the production or handling of organic agricultural products. (NOP definition)

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).
The Agricultural Marketing Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. (NOP definition)
 

Agricultural product.
Any agricultural commodity or product, whether raw or processed, including any commodity or product derived from livestock, that is marketed in the United States for human or livestock consumption. (NOP definition)

Allowed synthetic.
A substance that is included on the National List of synthetic substances allowed for use in organic production or handling. (NOP definition)

Animal drug.
Any drug as defined in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended (21 U.S.C. 321), that is intended for use in livestock, including any drug intended for use in livestock feed but not including such livestock feed. (NOP definition)

Annual seedling.
A plant grown from seed that will complete its life cycle or produce a harvestable yield within the same crop year or season in which it was planted. (NOP definition)

Area of operation.
The types of operations: crops, livestock, wild-crop harvesting or handling, or any combination thereof that a certifying agent may be accredited to certify under this part. (NOP definition)

Audit trail.
Documentation that is sufficient to determine the source, transfer of ownership, and transportation of any agricultural product labeled as "100 percent organic," the organic ingredients of any agricultural product labeled as "organic” or "made with organic (specified ingredients)" or the organic ingredients of any agricultural product containing less than 70 percent organic ingredients identified as organic in an ingredients statement. (NOP definition)