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	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing	BioGro New Zealand New Zealand · Tier 1 Gold	JAS Organic Japan · Tier 1 Gold	Fairtrade International Global · Tier 3 Specialty
What it means	The word 'natural' on packaging is a marketing term, not a certification. In most jurisdictions there's no legal definition, no standard, and no inspection. A product labelled 'natural' can contain synthetic ingredients, pesticides, GMOs, and artificial flavours.	New Zealand's largest organic certifier. Recognised by the EU, US, and Japan under their respective import-equivalence regimes.	Japan's national organic standard under the Japanese Agricultural Standard system. The mark must appear on any food sold as 'organic' (有機 or オーガニック) in Japan.	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	—	1983	2001	1997
Inspection	None	Annual on-site, IFOAM-accredited	Annual on-site by MAFF-registered certifier	Annual on-site by FLOCERT (independent of Fairtrade International)
Residue testing	None	Risk-based	Required for high-risk operations	Not for organic — Fairtrade alone doesn't test residues
Guarantees	Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.	≥95% organic ingredients. No synthetic pesticides, no GMOs. Annual on-site inspection. Covers food, textiles, and personal care under separate standards.	≥95% organic ingredients. No synthetic pesticides, no synthetic fertilizers, no GMOs. Annual inspection by a MAFF-registered certifier.	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	Doesn't mean organic. Doesn't mean pesticide-free. Doesn't mean GMO-free. Doesn't mean ethically produced. Some markets (e.g. the US FDA on food, EU on cosmetics) place very limited restrictions on the word, but enforcement is weak.	New Zealand has no single legally-mandated 'organic' definition — voluntary certification is the norm.	Mutual recognition with the US, EU, and Canada applies to specific product categories — check each agreement before importing.	Doesn't mean organic — many Fairtrade products are conventionally grown. A separate Fairtrade-Organic dual certification exists.

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