USDA certified organic is one of the unique organic food certifications in the United States.
USDA stands for the United States Department of Agriculture, which has established a system called the National Organic Program (NOP).
This means that any product that is officially organic in the U.S. must pass the USDA’s strict regulations.
In the case of organic food products involving crops, the following regulations apply.
- No banned substances (such as pesticides) have been used on the land where the crops are grown for at least the past three years.
- Only animal wastes and approved synthetic substances can be used for land fertility and nutrient management.
- For weed and pest control, basically physical manual or mechanical work should be used, or pesticides with government-approved ingredients should be used. In principle, only organic seeds and plants can be used.
- In principle, organic seeds and plants should be used.
- Genetic engineering, ionizing radiation, and sewage sludge are prohibited.
If your product sales are less than $5,000 per year, you do not need to apply to USDA and you can describe your product as organic, but you cannot use the mark.
In order to obtain the USDA certification mark, there are various paperwork requirements, strict government inspections, and annual on-site inspections for renewal.
Even if the crops are organic, the mark cannot be obtained if any other ingredients are not organic. In order to be able to use the USDA mark on the product packaging, the ingredients must be at least 95% organic.
This means that in order for a product to carry the USDA organic certification mark, it must contain close to 100% of certified ingredients and have annual sales of at least $5,000.
Hemp is a plant that is particularly susceptible to impurities during the CBD extraction process, as it absorbs and accumulates a variety of soil components during its growth. For this reason, CBD products with the USDA organic certification mark are valued in many ways.
Organic Broad Spectrum (0.0% THC) CBD Oil Tincture Tranquil Mint is one of the products that have earned the USDA certification mark.
It is made up of only three ingredients: quality organic olive oil, mint essential oil, and Broad Spectrum CBD, and is recommended for those who are particular about quality.
