(a) Application. Prospective Participating Organizations seeking USDA approval to use the USDA Certified Biobased Product Label and to become qualified for preferred Federal procurement for an eligible Biobased Product must submit an application for each Biobased Product or product family. USDA has developed a standardized application form that must be used. The standardized application form and instructions are available on the BioPreferred Program website (biopreferred.gov). The contents of an acceptable application are as specified in paragraphs (a)(1) and (2) of this section.
(1) General content. The applicant must provide the information as specified in paragraphs (a)(1)(i) though (viii) of this section.
(i) Contact information, including the name, mailing address, email address, and telephone number of the applicant.
(ii) The product's brand name(s) or other identifying information.
(iii) Intended uses of the product.
(iv) The biobased source(s) of the raw materials used in the product.
(v) Information to document that one or more of the Innovative Criteria specified in § 4270.4(c) has been met.
(vi) The corresponding Designated Product Category classification for preferred Federal procurement.
(vii) The estimated Biobased Content of the product.
(viii) A web link directly to the applicant's website (if available).
(2) Commitments. The applicant must verify in the application that the product for which use of the USDA Certified Biobased Product Label is sought is a Biobased Product as defined in § 4270.2. The applicant must also agree to statements in the application that commit the applicant to submitting to USDA the information specified in paragraphs (a)(1)(i) through (viii) of this section, some of which USDA will post to the BioPreferred Program website (biopreferred.gov), and to providing USDA with up-to-date information on this website.
(b) Evaluation of applications—(1) Initial evaluation. USDA will evaluate each application to determine if it contains the information specified in paragraph (a) of this section and to determine compliance with the criteria specified in § 4270.4. If USDA determines that the application is incomplete, USDA will contact the applicant via email with an explanation of the application's deficiencies. Once the deficiencies have been addressed, the applicant may respond to USDA with an explanation of how the application's deficiencies were addressed for re-evaluation by USDA, and USDA will update the application as needed. If the applicant does not provide a response within 90 Days, USDA will make the application inactive.
(2) Prequalification. (i) USDA will provide a written response to each applicant as quickly as practicable, but no later than 90 Days after the receipt of a complete application, depending on the responsiveness of the applicant. The written response will inform the applicant of whether the application has been conditionally approved, or prequalified, to move forward to Biobased Content Testing, or has been disapproved. After notification that the application has been conditionally approved, if any of the information specified in paragraphs (a)(1)(i) through (viii) of this section has changed, the applicant must provide updates to USDA (for posting by USDA on the BioPreferred Program website).
(ii) For those applications that are conditionally approved to move forward, Biobased Content Testing must be completed as described in § 4270.7. Test results obtained prior to the application being conditionally accepted or obtained in a manner that does not comply with this part cannot be accepted.
(iii) After Biobased Content Testing has been completed, USDA will evaluate the results and determine if the product meets the criteria described in § 4270.4(b). For those applications that meet the criteria described in § 4270.4(b), USDA will issue a notice of certification, as specified in paragraph (c) of this section. A notice of certification must be issued before the use of the USDA Certified Biobased Product Label can begin.
(iv) For those applications that are disapproved, USDA will inform the applicant in writing of each criterion not met.
(c) Notice of certification. Once USDA confirms that the test results document an acceptable Biobased Content, USDA will issue a notice of certification to the applicant that includes the date of certification, name of the product(s) covered by the certification, and certified Biobased Content of the product(s). Upon receipt of a notice of certification, the applicant may begin using the USDA Certified Biobased Product Label on the Certified Biobased Product and may advertise that the product is a Certified Biobased Product. Paragraph (c)(1) of this section presents the procedures for revising the information provided under paragraphs (a)(1)(i) through (viii) of this section after a notice of certification has been issued.
(1) If at any time, during the application process or after a product has been certified, any of the information specified in paragraphs (a)(1)(i) through (viii) of this section changes, the applicant must notify USDA of the change within 30 Days. Such notification must be provided in writing via email to USDA. Failure to notify USDA of any change made to a Certified Biobased Product may result in the violation actions described in § 4270.12.
(2) After receiving the notice of certification, the Participating Organization may request to display a Biobased Content percentage that is lower than the content measured by the ASTM D6866 test results but is greater than or equal to the applicable category minimums. Such requests must be sent in writing via email to USDA and must be approved by USDA.
(3) If, after reviewing the test results, USDA determines that the product does not meet the Applicable Minimum Biobased Content, USDA will issue a notice of denial of certification and will inform the applicant in writing via email of each criterion not met.
(d) Term of certification—(1) General. The effective date of certification is included in the notice of certification from USDA. Except as specified in paragraphs (d)(1)(iii) and (iv) and (d)(2) through (4) of this section, certifications will remain in effect for five years. The applicant will be notified 90 Days before the certification expires, at which time, the product must be re-tested in accordance with the procedure as specified in § 4270.7.
(i) If the certification is not renewed within the 90 Days, the product certification will expire, the product will no longer be a Certified Biobased Product, and the product information will be removed from the BioPreferred Program website (biopreferred.gov).
(ii) If a Participating Organization whose product certification has expired wishes to renew the certification, the participant must follow the procedures required for original certification.
(iii) All certifications are subject to periodic USDA auditing activities, as described in § 4270.15. If a Participating Organization fails to participate in such audit activities or if such audit activities reveal Biobased Content violations, as specified in § 4270.12, the certification will be subject to suspension and revocation according to the procedures specified in § 4270.12(c)(3).
(iv) If USDA discovers that a certification has been issued for an ineligible product as a result of errors on the part of USDA during the approval process, USDA will notify the Participating Organization in writing that the certification is revoked effective 30 Days from the date of the notice.
(2) Reformulations. If at any time during the term of certification a Certified Biobased Product is reformulated, the participant must notify USDA of the change. USDA will consider the changes and inform the participant if re-testing is required as specified in paragraphs (d)(2)(i) through (iii) of this section.
(i) If the product formulation or raw materials of a Certified Biobased Product are changed such that the Biobased Content of the product is reduced to a level below that reported in the Certified Application, the existing certification will no longer be valid for the product under these revised conditions and the Participating Organization and its Designated Representatives must discontinue affixing the USDA Certified Biobased Product Label to the product and must not initiate any further advertising of the product using the USDA Certified Biobased Product Label. USDA will consider a product under such revised conditions to be a reformulated product, and the Participating Organization must submit a new application for certification using the procedures specified in paragraph (a) of this section.
(ii) If the product formulation of a Certified Biobased Product is changed such that the Biobased Content of the product is increased from the level reported in the Certified Application, and the raw materials are not significantly changed, the existing certification will continue to be valid for the product.
(iii) If the applicable required minimum Biobased Content for a product to participate in the BioPreferred Program is revised by USDA, Participating Organizations must follow the requirements specified in § 4270.6(a)(3).
(3) Test exemptions. For those products that are exempt from Biobased Content Testing as described in § 4270.7, the test exempt certification will expire at the same time as the Certified Application of the Parent Product.
(4) Special considerations. (i) For those Participating Organizations who have Qualified Biobased Products that are not certified as of January 8, 2025. USDA will solicit Biobased Content test data obtained using the ASTM D6866 test method. Participants who provide USDA with ASTM D6866 test data that has been obtained within the past five years from January 8, 2025 and whose products meet the requirements as described in § 4270.4 will receive certification for their products covered by the test data. The term of certification as described in paragraph (d)(1) of this section will then apply.
(ii) Participants who have Qualified Biobased Products that are not certified as of January 8, 2025 and do not provide recent ASTM D6866 test results within three years of the publication of this rule will be required to have their products tested and certified as described in § 4270.7. If certification is not completed within three years of the publication of this rule, these Biobased Products will no longer be listed as Qualified Biobased Products on the BioPreferred Program's website (biopreferred.gov) and will be removed from the BioPreferred Program's website (biopreferred.gov).
(iii) For those participants who have Certified Biobased Products that have been certified for more than five years as of the date of publication of this rule, USDA will require that the certification be renewed as described in paragraph (d)(1) of this section within three years of January 8, 2025. If an application for renewal is not completed within three years, the product certification will expire, the product will no longer be a Certified Biobased Product, and the product information will be removed from the BioPreferred Program website (biopreferred.gov).