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Rainforest Alliance logo
Rainforest Alliance
Global · Tier 3 Specialty
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'Natural' (NOT a certification)
Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing
AB (Agriculture Biologique) logo
AB (Agriculture Biologique)
France · Tier 2 Trusted
What it meansSustainable-agriculture certification (post-2020 merged standard with UTZ). Covers environmental, social, and economic criteria. NOT an organic mark.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.France's national organic mark, owned by the Ministry of Agriculture. Sits alongside the EU Leaf on virtually all French organic packaging.
ScopeFoodSeveral categoriesFood
Established1987—1985
InspectionAnnual third-party audit (RA-accredited)NoneAnnual on-site by French-accredited certifiers
Residue testingRisk-basedNoneRisk-based
Guarantees
  • 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.
  • Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.
  • EU baseline organic (EU 2018/848).
  • Annual on-site inspection by accredited French certifiers (Ecocert, Bureau Veritas, Qualité-France).
Does NOT
  • Allows synthetic pesticides — does NOT meet any organic standard. Often confused with organic but it's a different programme.
  • 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.
  • Same standard as the EU Leaf — AB is the brand consumers recognise, not a stricter rule.

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