What the U.S. Organic Standards Mean for Consumers

When the new U.S. Organic Standards are fully implemented October 21, 2002. all organic food and fiber products sold in the U.S. must be "certified organic" by an accredited inspector who verifies that they meet strict federal organic standards. Once "certified organic," products will fit into one of four labeling categories:

100% organic - all of a product's contents are certified organic. These products may display the "USDA Organic" seal.

Organic - at least 95% of a product's content by weight is certified organic. These products may display the "USDA Organic" seal.

Made with organic ingredients - at least 70% of a product's content is organic and the front panel may display the phrase "Made with Organic" followed by up to three specific ingredients.

Products containing less than 70% organic content may identify organic content only on the product label's ingredient list.

Note: In these labeling categories, any ingredient identified as organic cannot be from both organic and non-organic sources. For example, if the label says, "made with organic apples," that means all the apples used in the product are certified organic. Also, water and salt are excluded from calculations to determine the percent of organic content.

The certification process verifies that organic products meet stringent requirements each step from the farm to the store. Every phase of production for an organic food product - from the source of the raw ingredients to the facilities that produce the food and the shipping containers used to transport the organic products to your store shelves - is inspected and certified as meeting or exceeding U.S. organic standards.

The new USDA rules will also cover imported organic food products, providing shoppers with additional assurance that all foods labeled as organic must meet U.S. Requirements in order to be sold here. No other country offers an organic standard as stringent as the United States, which means the United States is truly setting the pace for organic standards around the world.