Any food with a label that says "organic" must be certified by a certifying agency accredited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Furthermore, there are strict rules defining varying degrees of "organic."
Here's a quick guide to help you understand different organic labels and the product behind it:
The USDA organic seal — A voluntary label organic producers can choose to place on their products that meet the federal requirements for "100% Organic" or "Organic" labeling. It simply provides consumers another level of assurance of organic integrity.
"100 percent organic" — The product contains ONLY organically produced raw or processed material and may display the USDA Organic seal.
"Organic" — The product has 95 percent to 100 percent organic ingredients and may display the USDA Organic seal.
"Made with organic ingredients" — The product has 70 percent to 95 percent organic ingredients. The label may include the words "Made with (listing up to three organic ingredients)" on the front panel or main label. The label may not display the USDA Organic seal.
Products with less than 70 percent organic ingredients may only list the organic ingredients on the ingredient label, not on the front panel, and may not display the USDA Organic seal.
More about labels
Each organically produced ingredient in a product labeled organic must be listed and modified by the word "organic" in the ingredient panel.
Truthful labeling has no restrictions. Claims such as "no chemical pesticides used" or "no growth hormones used" are acceptable and encouraged.
The appearance of the USDA organic seal will phase in as old food labels run out of stock and manufacturers start using new ones.
All products that use organic ingredients must provide the name and address of the USDA accredited certifier.
The USDA organic seal — A voluntary label organic producers can choose to place on their products that meet the federal requirements for "100% Organic" or "Organic" labeling. It simply provides consumers another level of assurance of organic integrity.