USDA Organic Products Labeling

About Organic Labeling:

An overview of key requirements and the various labeling categories allowed under the USDA organic regulations. Organic product labels must be reviewed and approved by a USDA-accredited certifying agent before being used in the marketplace.

What requirements do organic products have to meet?

Organic products must be produced using agricultural production practices that foster resource cycling, promote ecological balance, maintain and improve soil and water quality, minimize the use of synthetic materials, and conserve biodiversity. Products must be:

• Overseen by a USDA NOP-authorized certifying agent, following all USDA organic regulations
• Produced without excluded or prohibited methods, (e.g., genetic engineering, ionizing radiation, or sewage sludge)
• Produced using allowed substances

Can a product be labeled “organic” without being certified?

• If you make a product and want to claim that it or its ingredients are organic, your final product probably needs to be certified.
• If you are not certified, you must not make any organic claim on the principal display panel or use the USDA organic seal anywhere on the package.
• You may only, on the information panel, identify the certified organic ingredients as organic and the percentage of organic ingredients.

What do the organic product labeling rules cover?

• Covers wording allowed on both the front panel and the information panel of a packaged product:
  • Principal display panel (PDP): portion of the package most likely to be seen by customers at the time of purchase
  • Information panel (IP): includes ingredient statement (list of ingredients contained in a product, from highest to lowest percentage of final product) and other product information
• View complete rules in the “Product Composition” section of the USDA organic regulation

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

What about labeling for alcoholic beverages?

• Must meet both USDA organic requirements and Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) regulations, including sulfite labeling requirements
  • Any use of added sulfites makes the wine only eligible for the “made with” labeling category; may not use the USDA organic seal
  • Sulfites may only be added to wine “made with” organic grapes; wine labeled as “made with” other organic fruit (e.g., apples) may not contain added sulfites
• All organic alcohol labels must be reviewed by an organic certifying agent and the TTB

Are there any exemptions?

• Producers who market less than $5,000 worth of organic products annually are not required to apply for organic certification, with the following caveats:
  • Must comply with the organic production and handling requirements of the regulations, including recordkeeping (for at least 3 years).
  • Products from such noncertified operations cannot be used as organic ingredients in processed products produced by another operation nor may they display the USDA certified organic seal.

What does a trademark do for organic farms and businesses?

The registered trademark protects the “USDA organic” name and logo from misuse by giving the USDA intellectual property rights to restrict the use of the registered mark, or a confusingly similar one, in agricultural production and handling. The new authority, which protects all certified farms and businesses, applies to products displaying the USDA organic seal within the U.S. and at its borders.

Is a registration symbol required for use with the USDA organic seal?

Certified organic operations are not required to change their labels to include the registration mark of the seal, and certified organic products currently in the marketplace still meet the requirements of certification. Operations may choose either version of the seal and existing labels do not need to be revised or discarded.

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