With annual increase rates topping ...

With annual increase rates topping 20 percent and rising, organic beverage makers say they have nowhere to advance but up after the fresh national organic regulations go into import this fall.

The federally implemented National Organic Program (NOP), which was finalized in December 2000 requires that all issues labeled as "organic" meet the of recent origin standards by Oct. 21, 2002 -- or other With the new USDA conduct on organics comes a legion of ingredient specifications, say organic rations and beverage companies, but also the opportunity to validate and expand the roughly $8-billion organic category.

"We're true excited about the USDA