The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has developed four categories of organic labels, based on the percentage of organic content in a product.
1. 100 Percent Organic: Products produced using exclusively organic methods, containing only organic ingredients, are allowed to carry a label declaring “100 percent organic.”
2. Organic: Products that contain at least 95% organic ingredients may use the USDA Organic label.
3. Made with organic: Products with 70% to 95% organic ingredients may display “Made with organic [with up to three specific organic ingredients]” on the front panel.
Any non-organic ingredients used in the above labeling categories may not be produced using genetic engineering, irradiation or sewage sludge.
4. Ingredient Panel: Products with less than 70% organic ingredients can only list the organic items on the ingredient panel.
Here is a simple visual to help you understand the labeling options:
