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	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing	JAS Organic Japan · Tier 1 Gold	Rainforest Alliance Global · Tier 3 Specialty	IFM IFOAM — Organics International Global · Tier 2 Trusted
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.	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.	Sustainable-agriculture certification (post-2020 merged standard with UTZ). Covers environmental, social, and economic criteria. NOT an organic mark.	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.
Scope	Several categories	Food	Food	Several categories
Established	—	2001	1987	1972
Inspection	None	Annual on-site by MAFF-registered certifier	Annual third-party audit (RA-accredited)	Periodic review of accredited certifier bodies
Residue testing	None	Required for high-risk operations	Risk-based	Delegated to accredited certifiers
Guarantees	Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.	≥95% organic ingredients. No synthetic pesticides, no synthetic fertilizers, no GMOs. Annual inspection by a MAFF-registered certifier.	Reduced (not eliminated) synthetic pesticide use, with bans on the most hazardous classes. Forest conservation requirements (no deforestation after the cut-off date). Worker welfare and community development requirements. Annual third-party audit.	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.
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.	Mutual recognition with the US, EU, and Canada applies to specific product categories — check each agreement before importing.	Allows synthetic pesticides — does NOT meet any organic standard. Often confused with organic but it's a different programme.	Does NOT certify products directly — only certifiers. Look for the underlying national / private mark on the package.

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