All certifications

Side-by-side

Compare certifications.

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

	Non-GMO Project Verified United States · Tier 3 Specialty	USDA Organic United States · Tier 1 Gold	Luomu (Finland) Finland · Tier 2 Trusted	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing
What it means	North America's leading 'no genetically modified organisms' certification. Tests for the presence of GMOs in finished products. NOT organic.	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.	Finland's national organic 'Sun Mark' (Aurinkomerkki). Operated by the Finnish Food Authority. In practice most Finnish organic packaging carries both Luomu and the EU Leaf — they certify to the same baseline.	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.
Scope	Food	Food	Food	Several categories
Established	2010	2002	1995	—
Inspection	Annual third-party audit + lab testing	Annual on-site by USDA-accredited certifier	Annual on-site by Finnish Food Authority	None
Residue testing	GMO testing only (not pesticide)	Required on ≥5% of operations annually	Required	None
Guarantees	Verified absence of GMO ingredients (with action thresholds, not zero tolerance). Annual third-party verification. Tracing and segregation across the supply chain.	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.	EU baseline organic (Finnish supply chains end-to-end). Annual on-site inspection by the Finnish Food Authority.	Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.
Does NOT	Doesn't mean organic — Non-GMO products can use synthetic pesticides and fertilizers freely.	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.	The Sun Mark is awarded only to fully Finnish supply chains — imports use the EU Leaf alone.	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.

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