How to read a USDA Organic label: the four tiers

The USDA organic regulations sort every product that mentions organic into one of four categories. The category depends on the share of organic ingredients, measured by weight or fluid volume and leaving out water and salt. Each category comes with its own rules for what may be printed on the front of the package and whether the seal may be used.

"100 percent organic" is the strictest tier. Every ingredient is organic, apart from salt and water, which USDA treats as natural and leaves out of the math. USDA notes that most raw, unprocessed or minimally processed farm crops can be labeled this way. If the product is processed, the regulations also require any processing aids to be organically produced.

"Organic" is the tier you will see most often on packaged food. It requires a minimum of 95 percent organic ingredients. Up to 5 percent may be nonorganic agricultural products or nonagricultural substances that appear on USDA's National List. USDA adds that nonorganic agricultural ingredients, and several of the listed nonagricultural ones, may be used only when they are not commercially available in organic form.

Both tiers share a set of prohibitions written into the regulations. Products labeled "100 percent organic" or "organic" must not be produced using excluded methods such as genetic engineering, processed with ionizing radiation or produced using sewage sludge. They also must not contain sulfites, nitrates or nitrites added during production or handling. Both tiers may show the seal, so the seal alone does not tell you which of the two you are holding. The wording does.

A "made with organic" product contains at least 70 percent organically produced ingredients. The front of the package may say "made with organic" followed by up to three ingredients or ingredient categories, such as "made with organic oats and raisins." According to USDA, it must not use the general phrase "made with organic ingredients," must not represent the finished product as organic and must not display the USDA Organic seal anywhere.

The nonorganic part of the recipe is not a free-for-all. The regulations say no ingredient in a "made with" product may be produced using genetic engineering, ionizing radiation or sewage sludge. Other restrictions that apply to fully organic products are relaxed for the nonorganic share.

Wine is the place most shoppers meet this tier. USDA says any use of added sulfites makes a wine eligible only for the "made with" category, so a bottle labeled "made with organic grapes" may contain added sulfites and may not carry the seal. That distinction is noted on every pick on our organic wine page.

Products with less than 70 percent organic content sit in the fourth tier. They must not use the seal and must not use the word organic on the front of the package. They may identify the certified organic ingredients in the ingredient statement, for example "Ingredients: water, barley, beans, organic tomatoes, salt," and may state the percentage of organic ingredients on the information panel.

USDA says the remaining ingredients in such a product are not required to follow the organic regulations. An ingredient list with one or two organic items is a statement about those items and nothing more.

The same reading works in every aisle. On a can from our organic canned goods page, the word on the front tells you the tier, and the ingredient list tells you which items are organic, each marked with the word organic or an asterisk.

For cosmetics and body care, yes, when the product is certified. USDA's fact sheet says certified cosmetics, personal care and body care products are eligible for the same four labeling categories as other agricultural products, based on their organic content. A bottle on our organic body lotion page that shows the seal has met the 95 percent rule. A cosmetic with no USDA certification may not state or imply that it is USDA-certified organic.

Textiles are handled differently. USDA says that unless the finished textile is certified to the USDA organic regulations, its label may not state or imply that the finished product is USDA organic or use the seal. Textiles that meet the Global Organic Textile Standard may be sold as organic in the United States under that standard's own label.

Alcohol has two gatekeepers. USDA says alcoholic beverages must meet both the organic requirements and the rules of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, and that all organic alcohol labels must be reviewed by an organic certifying agent and by that bureau.

For what the seal covers beyond labeling, see the USDA Organic label page. For words that sit near it on the shelf, see organic vs natural vs non-GMO. For the broader legal picture, see what organic means.