USDA organic seal: who can use it and how organic labeling works

Who can use the USDA organic seal

The USDA organic seal is an official mark run by the National Organic Program, part of the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. According to USDA, certified farms and businesses may use it. The regulations limit it further: the seal may be used only on products in the 100 percent organic and organic categories and organic livestock feed. A product in either of the two lower categories cannot carry the seal, even if the maker is certified.

USDA protects the seal in two ways. Under the organic regulations, a person who knowingly sells or labels a product as organic when it does not meet the standards can face fines of several thousands of dollars for each violation. Under trademark law, USDA has trademarked the organic seal, so it can also stop misuse of the name and logo.

Every organic label goes through a certifier first: USDA says labels must be reviewed and approved by a USDA-accredited certifying agent before use.

Each threshold counts ingredients by weight or fluid volume and leaves out water and salt, as the percentages above show. On the label itself, water and salt cannot be identified as organic.

USDA organic labeling requirements on the package

The organic labeling rules cover two parts of a package: the principal display panel on the front, and the information panel that holds the ingredient statement and the name of the handler or distributor. The rules for each category say what may and must appear on each panel.

• Ingredient marking: in the organic and made with organic categories, each organic ingredient is marked with the word organic, or an asterisk or other reference mark defined below the ingredient statement.
• Certifier statement: products in the top three categories show "Certified organic by" followed by the certifier's name, below the handler or distributor. The label may also give the certifier's business address, internet address or telephone number.
• Percentage statements: a percentage of organic content, or a made with organic statement, may be printed at no more than one-half the size of the largest type on the panel, and must appear in its entirety in the same type size, style and color without highlighting.
• Certifier logos: on organic and 100 percent organic products, the certifier's own seal may appear, but not displayed more prominently than the USDA seal.
• Product names: organic may not modify a nonorganic ingredient in the product name. Example: a candle called "organic lavender candle" would need organic lavender, not conventional lavender with an organic carrier oil.

These are the USDA organic rules. Some products also answer to another agency. For alcohol, USDA says reviewed by an organic certifying agent and the TTB, so the organic rules sit on top of the other agency's label rules.

The made with organic ingredients label

The made with organic category is for products that reach at least 70 percent organic ingredients, excluding water and salt but miss the organic threshold. The front panel may name no more than three organic ingredients or food groups. Example wording: "made with organic oats, honey and almonds" or "made with organic grains". If a food group is named, all ingredients of each listed food group must be organically produced.

Three things are not allowed on a made with organic product. It must not display the USDA seal. It cannot describe the finished product as organic. And under USDA's labeling overview it must not state "made with organic ingredients" as a generic claim: the label has to name the actual organic ingredients or food groups.

A made with organic product still needs a certified maker, a certifier statement on the information panel and organic ingredients marked in the ingredient list. Many sellers search for a "made with organic ingredients label" expecting a smaller USDA logo for this tier. The regulations do not give it one: the USDA seal stays off, and the label may instead show the seal, logo or other identifying mark of the certifier of the finished product's handler.

USDA organic seal artwork rules

The regulations fix the look of the seal: it must copy the official design and be printed legibly and conspicuously. It comes in a color version and a black and white version, and USDA offers official artwork files for both on its organic seal page.

Because the seal has to copy the official design, do not redraw it, recolor it to match your brand or crop it. Download the files from USDA, place them as they are, and send the finished label to your certifier for approval before you print.

Organic labeling for soap, cosmetics and candles

USDA's organic rules cover agricultural products, and many non-food products are made from them: oils, butters, waxes, herbs and flowers. USDA's fact sheet on body care says FDA does not define or regulate the term organic for cosmetics, body care or personal care products. It also says USDA regulates the term organic for agricultural products through the National Organic Program.

USDA says a soap, lotion or other body care product may be eligible for certification if it contains agricultural ingredients and can meet the USDA organic standards. For that, the ingredient producers, their handlers and the maker of the final product must all be certified. Once certified, these products use the same 4 organic labeling categories as other agricultural products. USDA's own example for the made with tier is a body lotion made with organic lavender, rosemary, and chamomile.

Some products are outside USDA's reach. USDA says it has no authority over cosmetics, body care and personal care products that are not made up of agricultural ingredients. Products may also be certified to other private standards, such as foreign organic standards and eco-labels, which NOP does not regulate. A body care product that does not meet the USDA standards may not state, imply or convey in any way that the product is USDA-certified organic.

Candles are not named on the USDA pages read for this guide. A candle made from soy wax, beeswax or plant oils is made from agricultural ingredients, so ask a USDA-accredited certifier whether your formula and process can be certified before you print organic on the label. Without certification, the uncertified rule below applies to a candle like any other product.

Textiles follow the same logic. USDA allows the seal only when the finished product is certified to the USDA organic regulations.

If you are not certified

A maker who is not certified can still buy certified organic ingredients and use them. The label rules are strict, though. USDA says there must be no organic claim on the front panel and no seal anywhere on the package. You may name certified organic ingredients as organic, and the organic percentage, on the information panel only.

Small operations with $5,000 or less in gross organic sales a year do not need certification, but they must not display the USDA seal or a certifier's seal, and their products may not be represented as a certified organic product or certified organic ingredient to any buyer. How the exemption works and how to get certified are covered in the USDA organic certification guide.

This page is general information about the federal USDA organic regulations, not legal advice. Rules vary by state and by product, so check your state's rules as well. Your certifier has the final say on your label.

How to check a label before you print it

Example: a lavender soap made by a certified maker, where the organic oils and lavender make up 80 percent of the formula by weight, not counting water and salt.

1. Work out the organic share

   Add the weight of the organic ingredients and divide by the total weight, leaving out water and salt. In the example the share is 80 percent, which meets at least 70 percent organic ingredients, excluding water and salt but not at least 95 percent organic ingredients, excluding water and salt.

2. Pick the category

   At 80 percent the soap belongs in the made with organic category. It may say "made with organic olive oil, coconut oil and lavender", naming no more than three organic ingredients or food groups.

3. Decide on the seal

   The USDA seal stays off this label, because a made with organic product must not display the USDA seal. The soap would need at least 95 percent organic ingredients, excluding water and salt to carry it.

4. Fill in the information panel

   Mark each organic ingredient with the word organic, or an asterisk or other reference mark defined below the ingredient statement, then add "Certified organic by" followed by the certifier's name, below the handler or distributor.

5. Send it to your certifier

   Submit the final artwork for approval. USDA says labels must be reviewed and approved by a USDA-accredited certifying agent before use.

Where Nation fits

Questions about the USDA organic seal and organic labels