All certifications

Side-by-side

Compare certifications.

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

	Demeter International Global · Tier 2 Trusted	IFM IFOAM — Organics International Global · Tier 2 Trusted	China Organic (COFCC) China · Tier 1 Gold	Fairtrade International Global · Tier 3 Specialty
What it means	The certification mark for biodynamic agriculture. Stricter than any government organic standard: it covers the entire farm as a closed ecosystem, follows a planting calendar tied to lunar/solar cycles, and bans many practices the baseline organic rules permit.	The international umbrella body for the organic movement. Not a product label — IFOAM accredits other certifiers worldwide via the IFOAM Family of Standards. If a cert is 'IFOAM-accredited' it has been benchmarked to a globally consistent baseline.	China's national organic certification under the Certification and Accreditation Administration. Mandatory on any product sold as '有机' (organic) in mainland China.	Certifies fair prices and conditions for producers in developing countries — not organic, not environmental. Common on coffee, cocoa, sugar, bananas, tea.
Scope	Several categories	Several categories	Food	Food
Established	1928	1972	2005	1997
Inspection	Annual on-site by Demeter-accredited inspectors	Periodic review of accredited certifier bodies	Annual on-site by CNCA-accredited certifier	Annual on-site by FLOCERT (independent of Fairtrade International)
Residue testing	Risk-based on top of organic	Delegated to accredited certifiers	Required	Not for organic — Fairtrade alone doesn't test residues
Guarantees	All organic standards PLUS biodynamic preparations and whole-farm planning. Whole-farm certification (not single fields/products). Annual on-site inspection by Demeter-accredited inspectors. Animal welfare standards stricter than baseline organic.	Accredited certifiers meet the IFOAM Norms and the IFOAM Family of Standards. Independent peer review of certifier governance, inspection rigor, and conflict-of-interest controls.	≥95% organic ingredients. No synthetic pesticides, no GMOs. Annual third-party certification. Each certified product carries a unique 17-digit traceability code.	Minimum price floors for producer cooperatives. Fairtrade Premium paid into community-development funds. Bans on the worst forms of child and forced labour. Producer organisations must be small-farmer cooperatives or hired-labour plantations meeting standards.
Does NOT	Biodynamic philosophy includes esoteric elements (lunar planting, herbal preparations) that many scientists view as non-evidence-based — the agronomic outcomes are still good, the underlying claims about cosmic forces are not testable.	Does NOT certify products directly — only certifiers. Look for the underlying national / private mark on the package.	Imported organic foods must be re-certified under the Chinese standard — overseas certifications alone are not accepted for the 有机 label.	Doesn't mean organic — many Fairtrade products are conventionally grown. A separate Fairtrade-Organic dual certification exists.

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