Natural Resins, LLC, has announced that it has earned the USDA Certified Biobased Product label for its renewable-biomass derived product, which the company will be marketing under the BioRice brand.
The label has a valuable communication function, according to Kurt Nostrand, spokesperson for Natural Resins, as it makes it easy for consumers to identify biobased products and provides useful information about the biobased content of a product. It is crucial to inform consumers in a clear and transparent way about Biobased content, he noted.
The USDA has established minimum biobased content standards for many product categories. A product must meet or exceed the minimum biobased content percentage in its given category in order to qualify for certification. Products belonging in categories for which minimum biobased content requirements have not yet been established must contain at least 25% biobased content.
The manufacturer's claims concerning the biobased content are third-party certified and strictly monitored by USDA. Third-party verification for a product's Biobased content is administered through the USDA BioPreferred Program, an initiative created by the 2002 Farm Bill (and recently reauthorized by the 2018 Farm Bill) aimed at, among other things, increasing the development, purchase and use of biobased products.
The USDA Certified Biobased Product label falls under the Voluntary Labeling Initiative. Kate Lewis, of the USDA BioPreferred Program, appreciates and applauds Natural Resins’ participation. "Products from Natural Resins, LLC are contributing to an ever-expanding marketplace that adds value to renewable agriculture commodities, creates jobs in rural communities, and decreases our reliance on petroleum," she said.