What Are Organics and How Are They Certified

People who buy organic food products may wonder “what are organics and how are they certified?” This is one of the primary jobs of the United States Department of Agriculture: to regulate food production and ensure that consumer products are labeled properly.

The USDA has a very specific definition of what constitutes organic. Each product must have the following attributes:

• The animals can't be treated with antibiotics or growth hormones
• Animals must receive organic feed
• All food must be made without most conventional pesticides
• No bioengineering or ionizing radiation is allowed
• Plants cannot be fertilized with synthetic materials or sewage from animal farms

Products must be certified organic at all points in the production cycle, meaning they stay “clean” from birth or seed to grocery store.

This is not an exhaustive list of requirements. More information on organic standards can be found on the USDA’s National Organic Program site.

The USDA certifies organic foods with the help of officially approved inspectors. These individuals travel to crop farms, livestock farms and food handlers, checking each facility annually to insure regulations are followed.

Each facility manager must provide the inspector with an Organic Systems Plan, or OSP, a 16 page document that explains the operation, from field to shelf, to apply for initial certification. Some additional items the inspector may request include but are not limited to:

• An itemized list of what is being grown, where and how much
• A history of what each plot of land has been used for
• Logs regarding treatment of plants and animals, including feeding and fertilizing
• Receipts and invoices for any materials purchased for pest or weed control
• Records of purchase for seeds, mulch, soil and other related products
• Planting and/or breeding records
• Documents showing how food is transported and stored after leaving the farm
• Information on contamination prevention, such as irrigation plans
• Proof of certification of any premade organic ingredients used
• Product labels used for consumer packaging
• Animal health and medication records
• Documentation on feed and water origins
• Facility maps
• Flow charts detailing production

He or she may spend several hours at one location and visit any and all areas of the farm to perform a thorough check. This includes the fields, the crop storage containers, the packing area and the equipment sheds. He or she documents any noncomplying activity and asks the facility manager questions during this tour while looking at things such as weed presence, crop health, animal health, drainage and the like.

At the end of the inspection, the inspector completes an inspection report and exit interview. Then he or she notes any changes to the OSP and initials these changes plus notes any areas of concern.

The certifying body mails out a letter to the facility manager annually in regards to certification status. Managers are notified of any areas where they are not in full compliance with standards and asked to correct them before the next inspection. They must receive written proof of the action.

Consumers who ask what are organics and how are they certified are probably very familiar with the USDA certified organic product label. This label can read simply “organic,” “100 percent organic,” or “made with organic ingredients.” To earn the 100 percent organic label, the only ingredients a product can use that are not certified are water and salt. To earn the organic label, this number drops to 95 percent. To be made with organic ingredients, it drops again to 70 percent.

To find out more about how the certification process works, interested parties can visit the Rodale Institute’s website. It provides detailed information on farm inspections. They should note, though, that regulations can change every year depending on USDA standards at the time.

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