In recent years, organic products have enjoyed great popularity and the market size has continued to expand. As a big agricultural country, although it started late, China has become the fourth largest organic agricultural grower in the world, and organic product certification has established its own standards and requirements. As the country with the largest Organic product market in the world, the United States has put forward relevant concepts and standards for a long time. If domestic certified organic products want to be exported to the United States and sold as organic products, they need to pass the USDA Organic certification. If the first contact, do not understand the certification standards, do not know the prohibited pesticides, how to self-test?
Merieux Nutrition Science (China) here to provide you with some relevant information to help organic products companies in the United States.
- USDA Organic organic certification
USDA Organic certification is the most authoritative organic certification in the United States, and the owner of the certification program is the United States Department of Agriculture.
- Regulatory requirements
In 1990, the United States enacted the Organic Food Production Act of 1990, which stipulated the production procedures, national standards, and certification procedures for organic products.
On December 21, 2000, the Agricultural Marketing Service, a branch of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), established the National Organic Program (NOP). It was put on trial on April 21, 2001, and officially implemented on October 21, 2002.
NOP defines the definition, applicability, restrictions, etc. of organic agricultural products in detail, lists the permitted and prohibited substances in organic agricultural products, and promotes the development of domestic and international markets for fresh food or processed food made organically. As required, all organic produce exported to the United States must be inspected and certified by a certification body recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture.
- Common identifiers
The labeling of organic agricultural products in the United States is divided into four levels, that is, 100% organic, organic (organic content greater than 95%), containing organic ingredients (organic content 70% ~ 95%) and non-organic (organic content less than 70%), as follows:
· 100% ORGANIC:
Products with 100% ORGANIC content, mainly used in primary agricultural products, which have single ingredients and are all organic certified ingredients, and may use the “USDA ORGANIC” seal of the United States Department of Agriculture.
· ORGANIC:
Products with ORGANIC content of more than 95% May use less than 5% of the non-organic ingredients permitted by the standard, and the products may use the “USDA ORGANIC” seal of the United States Department of Agriculture.
· MADE WITH ORGANIC INGREDIENTS:
Products with organic content of 70% to 95% shall not use the ingredients prohibited by the standard. Such products shall be marked with ORGANIC ingredients and proportions, and the “USDA ORGANIC” seal of the United States Department of Agriculture shall not be used for the products, and the logo of the certification agency may be used.
· CONTAINS ORGANIC INGREDIENTS:
For products with an organic content of less than 70%, the non-organic ingredients may not be produced as organic. Such products must be labeled with ORGANIC ingredients and proportions, and the products are prohibited from using the USDA ORGANIC seal and certification agency logo.
This standard applies not only to products in the United States, but also to products imported into the United States from foreign countries.
- 360° solution
As a professional third-party testing laboratory, Meriere Nutrition Science (China) has 20 years of experience in agricultural residue testing, and can provide more than 1,000 agricultural residue tests, and provide different testing packages and service solutions according to the regulatory requirements of different countries.
For US Organic certification, the following residue testing packages are recommended:
| Inspection Package | Detection Cycle | Detection Advantage |
| Usda NOP banned pesticides list 180+ items | 5-7 working days | Comprehensive coverage of banned pesticides, organic must be tested in the United States |
