What does organic mean?
While many companies off-handedly mention using “organic ingredients,” it’s important to distinguish between organic marketing and the actual organic label.
The USDA organic label is the only government-sanctioned way to recognize organic produce. This quality label ensures a series of strict production and labeling requirements are met before putting a product on the market. According to the USDA:
“USDA certified organic foods are grown and processed according to federal guidelines addressing, among many factors, soil quality, animal raising practices, pest and weed control, and use of additives. Organic producers rely on natural substances and physical, mechanical, or biologically based farming methods to the fullest extent possible.” – USDA [1]
There are different labels within this category, depending on the percentage of organic products [2]:
- 100% organic: These products only contain ingredients certified as organic, including during processing.
- Organic: These products have at least 95% certified organic ingredients, and the rest of the ingredients should be organically produced.
- Made with organic: In general, these are multi-ingredient products with at least 70% certified organic ingredients. But the remaining 30% don’t need to be organic.
Only the first two are allowed to place the “certified USDA organic” in the packaging, while the “made with organic” category cannot [2].