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	USDA Organic United States · Tier 1 Gold	Australian Certified Organic Australia · Tier 1 Gold	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing	JAS Organic Japan · Tier 1 Gold
What it means	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.	Australia's largest organic certifier, accredited under the Australian National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce. The bud-and-leaf logo is the most-seen organic mark in Australian supermarkets.	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.
Scope	Food	Food	Several categories	Food
Established	2002	2002	—	2001
Inspection	Annual on-site by USDA-accredited certifier	Annual on-site, ACOS-accredited	None	Annual on-site by MAFF-registered certifier
Residue testing	Required on ≥5% of operations annually	Risk-based	None	Required for high-risk operations
Guarantees	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. No synthetic pesticides, no GMOs. Annual on-site inspection. Animal welfare and biodynamic-compatible production options.	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.
Does NOT	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.	Australia has no single mandatory organic mark — ACO is the dominant one, but NASAA, OFC, and others also certify.	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.

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