All certifications

Side-by-side

Compare certifications.

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

	USDA Organic United States · Tier 1 Gold	Canada Organic Biologique Canada · Tier 1 Gold	Naturland Germany · Tier 2 Trusted	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing
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.	The federal Canadian organic standard, mandatory on any agricultural product sold across provincial borders or imported as 'organic'.	A German farmers' association whose private organic standard is stricter than the EU baseline. Covers food, aquaculture, textiles, and cosmetics. Recognised globally.	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	Several categories	Several categories
Established	2002	2009	1982	—
Inspection	Annual on-site by USDA-accredited certifier	Annual on-site by CFIA-accredited certifier	Annual on-site by Naturland-accredited inspectors	None
Residue testing	Required on ≥5% of operations annually	Risk-based, conducted by accredited certifiers	Required	None
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 (single-ingredient products: 100%). No synthetic pesticides, no GMOs, no irradiation. Annual third-party certification under the Canada Organic Regime.	Stricter than EU 2018/848 (lower nitrogen inputs, full-farm conversion, social standards). Annual on-site inspection. Fair-pricing requirements for member farmers.	Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.
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.	Provincial sales-only operations are not legally required to carry it (though many do voluntarily).	Membership-based — only farms that join the Naturland association can use the mark.	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