(a) Certification requirements. For any Biobased Product seeking to participate in the BioPreferred Program, prospective Participating Organizations must submit an application as specified in § 4270.9 and confirm that the product meets the Applicable Minimum Biobased Content requirements and the definition for the Defined Product Category within which the Biobased Product falls. Paragraph (c) of this section addresses how to determine Biobased Content. Upon request, manufacturers and vendors must provide USDA and Federal agencies information to verify Biobased Content claims for Qualified Biobased Products.

(b) Minimum Biobased Content. Unless specified otherwise in the designation of a particular product category, the minimum Biobased Content requirements in a specific category designation refer to the organic carbon portion of the product, and not the entire product.

(c) Determining Biobased Content. Verification of Biobased Content must be based on third party ASTM/ISO compliant test facility testing using the ASTM Standard Method D6866 (Standard Test Methods for Determining the Biobased Content of Solid, Liquid, and Gaseous Samples Using Radiocarbon Analysis). ASTM Standard Method D6866 determines Biobased Content based on the amount of biobased carbon in the product as a percent of the weight (mass) of the total organic carbon in the product.

(1) General. Biobased Content will be based on the amount of biobased carbon in the product as a percent of the weight (mass) of the total organic carbon in the product.

(2) Complex Assemblies—(i) Equation. The Biobased Content of a Complex Assembly product, where the product has n components whose Biobased Content and organic carbon content can be experimentally determined, may be calculated using the following equation:

(ii) Proportional sampling. The Biobased Content of an Assembly product may be determined by sub-sampling (by weight) each organic constituent in a proportion representative of its content within the assembly and combining the sub-samples into a measurable quantity so that a single ASTM D6866 analysis of the combined sub-samples is representative of the assembly.

(d) Products and Intermediate Ingredients or Feedstocks with the same formulation. In the case of products and Intermediate Ingredients or Feedstocks that are essentially the same formulation but marketed under more than one brand name, Biobased Content test data may be shared as specified in paragraphs (d)(1) and (2) of this section.

(1) Test exemptions. In situations where a new product for which certification is sought is composed of the same Ingredients and has the same Biobased Content as a product that has already been certified and tested by a company that the interested party has a direct relationship with, the interested party may apply for a test exemption by referencing the Certified Application of the certified Parent Product in lieu of having the new product undergo Biobased Content Testing using ASTM D6866.

(2) Families. In situations where a Participating Organization is seeking certification for two or more products that are composed of the same Ingredients and have the same Biobased Content but are marketed for different uses or under more than one brand name, the products may be grouped in a family. Biobased Content test data must only be obtained for one of the products in the family, and the test data will apply to all products within the family.