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	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing	USDA Organic United States · Tier 1 Gold	Tún (Iceland) Iceland · Tier 1 Gold	Non-GMO Project Verified United States · 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.	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.	Vottunarstofan Tún is Iceland's only accredited organic certifier. Accredited by MAST (Matvælastofnun) under the EU 2018/848-equivalent Icelandic standard, so a Tún-certified product is also recognised as EU-organic.	North America's leading 'no genetically modified organisms' certification. Tests for the presence of GMOs in finished products. NOT organic.
Scope	Several categories	Food	Food	Food
Established	—	2002	1994	2010
Inspection	None	Annual on-site by USDA-accredited certifier	Annual on-site, MAST-accredited	Annual third-party audit + lab testing
Residue testing	None	Required on ≥5% of operations annually	Required for at-risk operations	GMO testing only (not pesticide)
Guarantees	Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.	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.	≥95% organic ingredients per EU rules. No synthetic pesticides, no GMOs. Annual on-site inspection. Animal welfare standards (outdoor / pasture access, geothermally-warmed greenhouse compatibility for vegetables).	Verified absence of GMO ingredients (with action thresholds, not zero tolerance). Annual third-party verification. Tracing and segregation across the supply chain.
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.	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.	There aren't many Tún-certified operations (~120–160) — coverage in the Icelandic market is narrower than in the EU mainland.	Doesn't mean organic — Non-GMO products can use synthetic pesticides and fertilizers freely.

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