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	USDA Organic United States · Tier 1 Gold	COSMOS-Organic / Natural European Union · Tier 2 Trusted	Bioland Germany · Tier 2 Trusted	AB (Agriculture Biologique) France · Tier 2 Trusted
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 leading certification for organic cosmetics in Europe. Two grades: COSMOS Organic (≥95% organic agricultural ingredients) and COSMOS Natural (no organic minimum, but the same restricted-ingredient list).	Germany's largest organic farmers' association. Bioland-certified farms operate to a stricter private standard than the EU baseline.	France's national organic mark, owned by the Ministry of Agriculture. Sits alongside the EU Leaf on virtually all French organic packaging.
Scope	Food	Cosmetics	Food	Food
Established	2002	2010	1971	1985
Inspection	Annual on-site by USDA-accredited certifier	Annual on-site by COSMOS-accredited certifier	Annual on-site by Bioland-accredited inspectors	Annual on-site by French-accredited certifiers
Residue testing	Required on ≥5% of operations annually	Risk-based	Required	Risk-based
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.	COSMOS Organic: ≥95% organic agricultural ingredients. COSMOS Natural: minimum natural-origin ingredients with banned synthetic restrictions. No GMOs, no parabens, no PEGs, no synthetic fragrances, no SLS/SLES. Biodegradability requirements. Annual on-site audit.	Whole-farm conversion (no parallel conventional production). Lower permitted nitrogen inputs than EU baseline. Animal welfare standards stricter than EU baseline. Annual on-site inspection.	EU baseline organic (EU 2018/848). Annual on-site inspection by accredited French certifiers (Ecocert, Bureau Veritas, Qualité-France).
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.	Doesn't certify clinical effectiveness or skin tolerance.	Like Naturland, membership-based — only Bioland-association farms can use the mark.	Same standard as the EU Leaf — AB is the brand consumers recognise, not a stricter rule.

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