FDA and Certified Organic Info

Who Needs To Be Certified?

Most farms and businesses that grow, handle, or
process organic products must be certified, including:
- Farms that sell more than $5,000 in organic
products per year (gross sales).
- Handlers that sell more than $5,000 of organic
processed food, including handlers that place
bulk products into smaller packages or that
repackage/relabel products.
- Processors that sell more than $5,000 of organic
processed products, unless all products contain
less than 70 percent organic ingredients or only
identify the organic ingredients in the ingredient
statement.
- Vendors that handle (e.g. package) and sell
products online (but not in stores) or otherwise
deliver organic products.

Overall, if you make a product and want to claim that
it or its ingredients are organic, your final product
probably also needs to be certified. Please review the
examples and exemptions below.
If you wish to make any organic claim on the granola’s
principal display panel (front of the package), yes, you
must be certified. Organic claims include any use of the
word “organic” (alone or referring to specific organic
ingredients) or the USDA organic seal. Only products
meeting all requirements for the “organic” or the “100
percent organic” labeling categories may use the USDA
organic seal anywhere on the package.

If you are only identifying specific
organic ingredients in the ingredient statement
and aren’t making an organic claim elsewhere, review
the  “exempt handling operations” section on next page.
If you are a retail food establishment, review the
“retail food establishments” section on next page.
Learn more about requirements for each labeling
category at www.ams.usda.gov/NOPOrganicLabeling.
If you are only selling a pre-packaged product, you
don’t need to be certified. The company that does the
final packaging for your product must be certified and
get any organic product label approved prior to sale.

Who Doesn’t Need to Be Certified?

The following operations do not need to be certified:
- Small organic farms and businesses (gross
agricultural income from organic sales does
not exceed $5,000 per year)
- Some brokers, distributors, and traders (see
below)
- Retail food establishments.
- Exempt handling operations (see below).
Although certification is not required for these “exempt”
or “excluded” operations, they may pursue voluntary
organic certification. Exempt and excluded operations
still need to comply with specific sections of the USDA
organic regulations (please see other side).

National Organic Program | Agricultural Marketing Service | U.S. Department of Agriculture              June 2012

Do I Need To Be Certified Organic?

I combine multiple certified
organic ingredients to make organic
granola. Do I need to be certified?
Another company packages my
product. They have an organic certificate.
Do I also have to be certified?Small Organic Farms and Businesses
If your farm or business’ gross agricultural income from
organic sales is $5,000 or less per year, it is considered
an “exempt” operation. This means you don’t need to
be certified to sell, label, or represent your products
as organic. You also do not need to develop a written
organic system plan. However, you must follow all
other requirements in the USDA organic regulations.
Specifically, you must:
- Maintain records for at least three years.
- Not use the USDA organic seal on your products
or refer to them as certified organic. If you would
like to use the USDA organic seal, pursue organic
certification.
- Meet other USDA organic labeling requirements.
- Not sell your products as ingredients for use in
someone else’s certified organic product.
- Register with the California Department of Food
and Agriculture if your farm is in California.

Brokers, Distributors, and Traders Who
Handle Products in Closed Containers

If your operation only sells, transports, stores, receives,
or acquires  products that are received in and remain
in a container without being processed*, the operation
does not need to be certified. An example of such
an “excluded” operation would be one that handles
boxed organic cereal. However, you must prevent
commingling with non-organic products and contact
with prohibited substances.

If your operation handles bulk, unpackaged organic
products (such as cattle, milk, or grain), you need to be
certified or be included under an organic producer or
handler’s organic system plan.
Retail Food Establishments

If your operation is a retail food establishment, such
as a grocery store, it does not need to be certified. You
may sell certified organic products that bear the USDA
organic seal, as long as you don’t process* them.

If your retail food establishment processes* certified
organic products on its premises, the USDA organic
regulations state that you must:
- Prevent commingling with non-organic products
and contact with prohibited substances.
- Not use the USDA organic seal or refer to
processed products as certified organic. If you
would like to use the USDA organic seal, obtain
organic certification.
- Meet other USDA organic labeling requirements.
Exempt Handling Operations
If your handling operation:
- Only handles products that contain less than 70
percent organic ingredients (excluding salt and
water) or
- Only identifies organic ingredients on the
product’s information panel,
It does not need to be certified. However, the USDA
organic regulations state that you must:
- Prevent commingling with non-organic products
and contact with prohibited substances.
- Meet the USDA organic labeling requirements.
- Maintain records for at least three years that
prove that the quantity of organic products sold
were organically produced and handled.

Learn more: www.ams.usda.gov/NOP