Organic Industry Event

The Global Organic Textile Standard Advisory Council's Annual Meeting will take place February 14-15 in Frankfurt , Germany. Contact Marni Karlin, OTA's Vice President of government Affairs for more information. 

OTA's Regulatory Director Gwendolyn Wyard will moderate the ACA Professional Training in Little Rock, Arkansas, Feb. 12, 2015 from 8:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. The training is a GMO Testing Intensive - A tool for verifying compliance with the organic standards. This three hour Intensive showcases an array of GMO and organic regulation experts who will provide an overview of the at-risk crops and contamination, impacts in the marketplace, GMO testing protocols, and how to develop a testing program under the NOP residue testing requirements. Panelists later lead group discussion to understand what guidance the NOP can provide ACAs on these topics. 

Moderator - Gwendolyn Wyard, OTA

Speakers: Holli Cederholm, General Manager Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA)

Heather Secrist, Ph.D, Genetic ID, CEO

Srivastava Deepak, Ph.D National Science Lab (Gastonia, NC) Molecular Biologist

For more information contact Gwendolyn Wyard. 

COTA will be attending the fifth North American edition of the Sustainable Foods Summit taking place in San Francisco on 21-22nd January. The summit will feature food traceability, sustainable ingredients and customer behaviour. The Sustainable Foods Summit is a series of international summits that focuses on the leading issues the food industry faces concerning sustainability and eco-labels. 

The Sustainable Foods Summit will be hosted in San Francisco from January 21-22, 2015. The Sustainable Foods Summit is a series of international summits that focuses on the leading issues the food industry faces concerning sustainability and eco-labels, such as Organic, Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, UTZ Certified, etc. The aim of the summit is to explore new horizons for eco-labels and sustainability in the food industry by discussing key industry issues. OTA Board member Sarah Bird will speak on behalf of OTA and our partner, Just Label It. 

SIAL Canada 2015 will take place on April 28th to 30th, 2015 at Direct Energy Centre, Toronto. A special price of $27.50/sqft (normally $33.00/sqft) is available to all COTA members. For more information or to book a booth please contact Henry Chen. COTA members will also have access to exclusive B2B meetings - a buyer’s program organized by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, MAPAQ and OMAFRA dedicated to Canadian food-processing exhibitors. 

OTA will discuss “Organic = Non-GMO….and a whole lot more!” and staff Booth #845 on the trade show floor during the SOHO EXPO Dec. 4-7 in Orlando, Florida. SOHO Expo is sponsored by the Natural Products Association, an association of retailers, manufacturers, distributors and brokers promoting optimal health. The show expects more than 1,500 attendees and over 400 exhibitors. For more information, contact Gwendolyn Wyard, OTA’s Regulatory Director of Organic Standards and Food Safety.

Thw GS Long's organic grower meeting will be held January 14, 2015 in Yakima WA.  Contact Nate Lewis to learn more. 

The IFT Conference will be held in Chicago, IL from July 11-14, 2015.