All certifications

Side-by-side

Compare certifications.

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

	Demeter International Global · Tier 2 Trusted	USDA Organic United States · Tier 1 Gold	Soil Association Organic United Kingdom · Tier 2 Trusted	Nordic Swan Ecolabel Nordic Countries · 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 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 UK's largest organic certifier. Standards are stricter than the UK government's baseline (which still mirrors EU 2018/848 post-Brexit). Recognised by the EU and USA under equivalence.	The official environmental label of the Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland). Covers ~60 product categories from cleaning products to hotels — NOT specifically an organic standard.
Scope	Several categories	Food	Several categories	Several categories
Established	1928	2002	1946	1989
Inspection	Annual on-site by Demeter-accredited inspectors	Annual on-site by USDA-accredited certifier	Annual on-site, UKAS-accredited	On-site + product review by national Ecolabel office
Residue testing	Risk-based on top of organic	Required on ≥5% of operations annually	Risk-based	Risk-based per category
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.	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.	Stricter-than-baseline organic standards across food, textiles, cosmetics, and farming. Annual on-site inspection. Animal welfare standards (outdoor access, lower stocking density).	Lifecycle-based environmental criteria for the product category. Restrictions on hazardous chemicals. Recyclability and packaging requirements. Audited every 3-5 years against an updated standard.
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.	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.	Logo is trademarked — not a free-licence mark.	Doesn't certify food as organic — Nordic Swan on a food package means lower-environmental-impact, not 'no synthetic pesticides'.

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