What do the four different organic labels mean?
“100 Percent Organic”
- Used to label any product that contains 100 percent organic ingredients (excluding salt and water, which are considered natural)
- Most raw, unprocessed or minimally processed farm crops can be labeled “100 percent organic”
- PDP: May include USDA organic seal and/or 100 percent organic claim
- IP: Identify organic ingredients (e.g., organic dill) or via asterisk or other mark
“Organic”
- Any product that contains a minimum of 95 percent organic ingredients (excluding salt and water)
- Up to 5 percent of ingredients may be nonorganic agricultural products and/or nonagricultural products on the National List (nonorganic agricultural products and several nonagricultural products on the National List may only be used if they are not commercially available as organic)
- PDP: May include USDA organic seal and/or organic claim
- IP: Identify organic ingredients (e.g., organic dill) or via asterisk or other mark
“Made with Organic ______”
- Product contains at least 70 percent organically produced ingredients (excluding salt and water), with a number of detailed constraints regarding ingredients that comprise the nonorganic portion
- PDP: May state “made with organic (insert up to three ingredients or ingredient categories)”; must not include USDA organic seal anywhere, represent finished product as organic, or state “made with organic ingredients”
- IP: Identify organic ingredients (e.g., organic dill) or via asterisk or other mark
Specific Organic Ingredient Listings
- Specific organic ingredients may be listed in the ingredient statement of products containing less than 70 percent organic contents—for example, “Ingredients: water, barley, beans, organic tomatoes, salt.”
- PDP: Must not include USDA organic seal anywhere or the word “organic”
- IP: May only list certified organic ingredients as organic in the ingredient list and the percentage of organic ingredients; remaining ingredients not required to follow the USDA organic regulations