Source: USDA Press Release, March 31

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2011 – Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan hosts a national media conference call to announce the first companies certified to carry USDA’s new label to identify biobased products. Earlier in the day, Deputy Secretary Merrigan unveiled the products at a press conference in Ohio.

Biobased products are those composed wholly or significantly of agricultural ingredients – renewable plant, animal, marine, or forestry materials. This new label indicates that the product has been independently certified to meet USDA BioPreferred program standards for biobased content. Biobased products help add value to commodities and create jobs in rural communities. They can help increase U.S. energy independence by reducing the use of petroleum in manufactured products. They may also reduce the introduction of fossil carbon into the atmosphere, thus mitigating potential climate change impacts. More information about the BioPreferred program is available at www.biopreferred.gov.