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	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing	IFM IFOAM — Organics International Global · Tier 2 Trusted	Debio Ø (Norway) Norway · Tier 2 Trusted	China Organic (COFCC) China · Tier 1 Gold
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.	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.	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.	China's national organic certification under the Certification and Accreditation Administration. Mandatory on any product sold as '有机' (organic) in mainland China.
Scope	Several categories	Several categories	Food	Food
Established	—	1972	1986	2005
Inspection	None	Periodic review of accredited certifier bodies	Annual on-site by Debio-accredited inspectors	Annual on-site by CNCA-accredited certifier
Residue testing	None	Delegated to accredited certifiers	Required	Required
Guarantees	Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.	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.	EU baseline organic. Annual on-site inspection. Norwegian-specific welfare standards (esp. for cold-climate livestock).	≥95% organic ingredients. No synthetic pesticides, no GMOs. Annual third-party certification. Each certified product carries a unique 17-digit traceability code.
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.	Does NOT certify products directly — only certifiers. Look for the underlying national / private mark on the package.	Norway is outside the EU — the Ø is recognised under EEA equivalence, not direct EU equivalence.	Imported organic foods must be re-certified under the Chinese standard — overseas certifications alone are not accepted for the 有机 label.

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