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	USDA Organic United States · Tier 1 Gold	Rainforest Alliance Global · Tier 3 Specialty	China Organic (COFCC) China · Tier 1 Gold	Debio Ø (Norway) Norway · 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.	Sustainable-agriculture certification (post-2020 merged standard with UTZ). Covers environmental, social, and economic criteria. NOT an organic mark.	China's national organic certification under the Certification and Accreditation Administration. Mandatory on any product sold as '有机' (organic) in mainland China.	Norway's only accredited organic certifier. The Ø-merket is required on any food sold as 'økologisk' in Norway. Operates to EU 2018/848 equivalence plus Norwegian add-ons.
Scope	Food	Food	Food	Food
Established	2002	1987	2005	1986
Inspection	Annual on-site by USDA-accredited certifier	Annual third-party audit (RA-accredited)	Annual on-site by CNCA-accredited certifier	Annual on-site by Debio-accredited inspectors
Residue testing	Required on ≥5% of operations annually	Risk-based	Required	Required
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.	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.	≥95% organic ingredients. No synthetic pesticides, no GMOs. Annual third-party certification. Each certified product carries a unique 17-digit traceability code.	EU baseline organic. Annual on-site inspection. Norwegian-specific welfare standards (esp. for cold-climate livestock).
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.	Allows synthetic pesticides — does NOT meet any organic standard. Often confused with organic but it's a different programme.	Imported organic foods must be re-certified under the Chinese standard — overseas certifications alone are not accepted for the 有机 label.	Norway is outside the EU — the Ø is recognised under EEA equivalence, not direct EU equivalence.

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