USDA Organic seal

How to read it

The US Department of Agriculture sets national standards that food labeled organic must meet, whether it is grown in the United States or imported. According to Ecolabel Index, organic food is produced without most conventional pesticides, fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge, bioengineering or ionizing radiation, and organic meat, poultry, eggs and dairy come from animals given no antibiotics or growth hormones.

Also searched as: organic symbol, USDA organic label.

Four organic labels

The USDA sets four levels. “100 percent organic” products contain only organic ingredients, apart from salt and water, and may carry the seal. “Organic” products contain at least 95 percent organic ingredients and may also carry the seal. “Made with organic” products contain at least 70 percent and must not carry the seal anywhere. Below 70 percent, organic ingredients may only be named in the ingredient list.

Differences by country or standard

The United States and the European Union have an equivalence arrangement: products certified to either the USDA or the EU organic standards may be sold as organic in both, as long as they meet its terms. One of those terms is that products from animals treated with antibiotics cannot be sold as organic in the US. The EU has its own organic logo.