All certifications

Side-by-side

Compare certifications.

Up to four certifications, side by side. Choose which ones

	Debio Ø (Norway) Norway · Tier 2 Trusted	USDA Organic United States · Tier 1 Gold	Bio Suisse 'Knospe' (Bud) Switzerland · Tier 2 Trusted	Bioland Germany · Tier 2 Trusted
What it means	Norway's only accredited organic certifier. The Ø-merket is required on any food sold as 'økologisk' in Norway. Operates to EU 2018/848 equivalence plus Norwegian add-ons.	The US Department of Agriculture's national organic standard. The green-and-white seal is the legal mark for any food sold as 'organic' in the United States.	The Swiss organic farmers' federation mark. The Knospe (Bud) is the dominant organic mark in Swiss supermarkets and operates to standards stricter than the Swiss federal organic ordinance.	Germany's largest organic farmers' association. Bioland-certified farms operate to a stricter private standard than the EU baseline.
Scope	Food	Food	Food	Food
Established	1986	2002	1981	1971
Inspection	Annual on-site by Debio-accredited inspectors	Annual on-site by USDA-accredited certifier	Annual on-site, bio.inspecta accredited	Annual on-site by Bioland-accredited inspectors
Residue testing	Required	Required on ≥5% of operations annually	Required	Required
Guarantees	EU baseline organic. Annual on-site inspection. Norwegian-specific welfare standards (esp. for cold-climate livestock).	At least 95% of ingredients are certified organic (the '100% Organic' variant requires every ingredient). No synthetic pesticides, no synthetic fertilizers, no GMOs, no sewage sludge, no irradiation. Annual on-site inspection by a USDA-accredited certifier. Residue testing on at least 5% of certified operations each year.	Whole-farm conversion. Lower nitrogen inputs than the Swiss federal organic baseline. Strong animal welfare requirements. Annual on-site inspection.	Whole-farm conversion (no parallel conventional production). Lower permitted nitrogen inputs than EU baseline. Animal welfare standards stricter than EU baseline. Annual on-site inspection.
Does NOT	Norway is outside the EU — the Ø is recognised under EEA equivalence, not direct EU equivalence.	Doesn't certify nutrition, taste, or animal welfare specifically (separate marks like AWA cover welfare). Doesn't guarantee local production — a 'USDA Organic' product can be grown anywhere with an accredited inspector.	Switzerland is outside the EU — the Knospe is recognised by the EU under the Switzerland-EU equivalence agreement, but not by USDA without further certification.	Like Naturland, membership-based — only Bioland-association farms can use the mark.

Choose up to 4 (4 chosen)

That's four — remove one to add another.

Stay in the loop

Get notified when we publish new articles, updates, and organic guides. No spam, just honest content, straight to your inbox.

Compare certifications · Organic.is