How do you know when a product is organic,
and what does it mean?
As of Oct. 21, 2002, all producers and processors of products sold
as organic in the United States must comply with national organic
standards or face fines and possible jail terms.
The reason?
That is the day for full implementation of national organic standards
governing the production and handling of organic products in the United
States. At that point, all organic food and fiber products, whether
domestically or foreign-produced, must be certified by an agency accredited
by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) verifying that such products
meet strict federal organic standards. The only exemption to the certification
requirement may be products sold by producers whose sales total less
than $5,000 a year. Although such producers do not need to be certified,
they must comply with national organic standards and be able to prove
that they do.
Here are the four labeling categories consumers
will see when they look for organic products in stores and markets:
100 percent organic – all of a
product’s content is certified organic. The products may display
the “USDA Organic” seal.
Organic – at least 95 percent of
a product’s content is certified organic. These product’s
may also display the “USDA Organic” seal.
Made with organic ingredients –
at least 70 percent of a product’s content is organic. Up to
three ingredients can be listed with the phrase “made with organic.”
Products containing less than 70 percent organic
content may identify organic content only on the product label’s
ingredients list.
Note: In all 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 – from the source of the raw ingredients to the facilities
that produce the food and shipping containers used to transport the
organic products to your store shelves – is inspected and certified
as meeting or exceeding U.S. national 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.
National organic standards will give U.S. consumers and retailers
the assurance that items carrying an organic label truly are. When
a product carries a claim that it is “100 percent organic,”
“Organic,” or Made with organic,” it, in fact, is.
And, manufacturers will be able to say the actual percentage of the
organic ingredients in a product. Thus, some may say 97 percent organic,
or 77 percent organic, for instance. This makes it very clear about
the products content’s.
The primary reason for national organic standards is to safeguard
the integrity of products marketed and sold in the United States as
organic. This rule does that, and includes penalties for those caught
violating it provisions. Thus, the industry has a rule that is enforceable,
and one that provides assurance to consumers.
