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	USDA Organic United States · Tier 1 Gold	Soil Association Organic United Kingdom · Tier 2 Trusted	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing	COSMOS-Organic / Natural European Union · 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 UK's largest organic certifier. Standards are stricter than the UK government's baseline (which still mirrors EU 2018/848 post-Brexit). Recognised by the EU and USA under equivalence.	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.	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).
Scope	Food	Several categories	Several categories	Cosmetics
Established	2002	1946	—	2010
Inspection	Annual on-site by USDA-accredited certifier	Annual on-site, UKAS-accredited	None	Annual on-site by COSMOS-accredited certifier
Residue testing	Required on ≥5% of operations annually	Risk-based	None	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.	Stricter-than-baseline organic standards across food, textiles, cosmetics, and farming. Annual on-site inspection. Animal welfare standards (outdoor access, lower stocking density).	Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.	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.
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.	Logo is trademarked — not a free-licence 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.	Doesn't certify clinical effectiveness or skin tolerance.

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