Organic - What does that mean?

Produce bearing this seal means that 95% or more of product has been grown to meet organic standards

Labels:

“USDA Organic” or “USDA Certified Organic”

Must contain at least 95% organic ingredients.

“100% organic”

Must contain only organically produced ingredients; It must also be grown and processed using organic farming methods that recycle resources and promote biodiversity. Crops must be grown without synthetic pesticides, bio-engineered genes, petroleum-based or sewage sludge-based fertilizers, and livestock cannot be given growth hormones.

Cannot: be irradiated, contain preservatives or flavor enhancing chemicals, traces of heavy metals, or other contaminants in excess of tolerances set by the FDA.

“Made with Organic Ingredients”

Can contain anywhere between 70-95% organic ingredients. i.e. up to 30% of ingredients may still contain pesticides, GMOs, added hormones etc.

What are the organic standards?

Organic crops must be grown without:

Synthetic pesticides
Bioengineered genes
Petroleum-based fertilizers
Sewage sludge-based fertilizers

Organic products cannot:

Be irradiated
Contain preservatives or flavor-enhancing chemicals (E.g. MSG)
Contain traces of heavy metals or other contaminants in excess of FDA-defined tolerances
Contain pesticide residues exceeding 5% of maximum EPA pesticide tolerance

Organic crops must be grown / processed using farming methods that recycle resources and promote biodiversity Organic meat must be from livestock that had access to the outdoors and was not given antibiotics or growth hormones For a complete list of allowed/prohibited substances under the USDA organic label:

The National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances