Key Takeaways
- "Organic" on U.S. food is a legal term defined by USDA regulations, and organic products cannot be grown with prohibited methods such as genetic engineering or most synthetic pesticides.
- "100% organic" means all ingredients are organic, "organic" means at least 95 percent organic ingredients, and "made with organic" means at least 70 percent.
- Products labeled organic must be certified by a USDA-accredited certifying agent, with a narrow exemption for very small operations that cannot use the USDA seal.
You pay more for food labeled organic. But what does that word legally promise, who checks, and does organic always mean every ingredient is organic?
In this TalksOnLaw Brief, Lauren Handel, founder and principal attorney of Handel Food Law, a firm that works exclusively with food, beverage, and farming businesses, explains the nuts and bolts of organic labeling in the United States in just over two minutes.
A Legal Definition
Handel explains that "organic" on food is not a marketing term. It is defined in regulations of the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Organic Foods Production Act, with standards shaped by the National Organic Standards Board. In basic terms, organic means that agricultural products were produced using methods that meet those standards and without any prohibited or excluded methods. Synthetic pesticides and genetically modified or genetically engineered plants, for example, are not allowed in organic agriculture.
Who Certifies Organic Products?
When you see the word organic or the USDA organic seal on the front of a processed product, Handel says, it means the product was certified organic. Certification is done by organizations accredited by USDA to certify farmers and food processors. Without that certification, a company is not allowed to use the term organic on the front of a food label.
Reading the Label Tiers
Does organic mean a product is made entirely from organic ingredients? Not necessarily. Handel walks through the three main label categories. "100% organic" means the product was produced entirely with organic ingredients. A label that simply says "organic" means the product contains at least 95 percent certified organic ingredients, and the remaining 5 percent must be substances on USDA's list of allowed ingredients. "Made with organic" means the product contains at least 70 percent organic ingredients, and the ingredients the label specifies must be organic.
What to Know Now
The definitions and label tiers Handel describes remain the rules today, and USDA has since tightened enforcement. The Strengthening Organic Enforcement rule, with a compliance date of March 19, 2024, extended certification requirements to more businesses in the supply chain, such as many brokers and traders, required electronic import certificates for organic imports, and increased oversight of certifiers to combat fraud. The National Organic Standards Board continues to advise USDA, including on which substances belong on the National List. Two details round out the picture: farms and businesses with gross organic sales of $5,000 or less a year can sell products as organic without certification, though they may not use the USDA seal, and products with less than 70 percent organic content may identify organic ingredients only in the ingredient list. Debates continue over specific standards, but the core meaning of the label is stable.
