Seeking an organic certified manufacturer? If you currently sell or want to sell organic supplements, certification is important. We provide compliant manufacturing services for products and packaging. With our large supply chain and manufacturing capacity of multiple facilities, we can handle any volume of order.
What Is The USDA?
The United States Department of Agriculture is responsible for regulating the Organic Certified program. It is a government body that is concerned with improving economic opportunity through innovation. Also, it seeks to do the following:
- Help rural areas thrive.
- Preserve the nation’s resources.
- Promote conservation of lands.
- Improve watersheds, rainforests and working lands.
- Help feed people in the United States and around the world.
The USDA’s Responsibilities
The USDA’s job is to keep ranchers and farmers in business and to ensure that agricultural production is optimized. It must also help protect the food supply chain. To do this, the body and its multiple agencies carry out these tasks:
- Inspect foods, drinks and supplements to ensure accuracy of label ingredients and claims.
- Ensure proper care and welfare of livestock.
- Ensure proper care and cultivation of plants and farmlands.
- Ensure compliance with agricultural sustainability measures.
What Is Organic Certified?
The USDA carefully protects the Organic Certified seal to ensure that those who use it are in full compliance. There are strict financial penalties for violations, and some violations may warrant suspension or revocation of a certificate. These are the important things to know about the Organic Certified seal:
- It indicates that an entity can sell, label or represent products as organic.
- Certifying agents have been approved by the USDA.
- The product meets all standards for its level of organic ingredients.
How the Organic Certified Process Works
The process starts with a company applying for certification. A supplement manufacturer must ensure that any ingredient or raw materials suppliers are at the same level of certification. After an application is submitted, there are several steps that take place. There are specific standards in place for crops, production and other processes. For supplement companies, production standards and crop standards for supplies are important considerations.
Production Standards
These are the USDA’s relevant requirements for handling:
- All ingredients that are allowed must be on the National List.
- If available, all agricultural ingredients must be produced organically.
- Procedures must be in place to prevent contamination with non-organic substances.
When an ingredient is not available in organic form, it must be listed on Section 205.606 to be acceptable in non-organic form for the mixture. This applies to multi-ingredient products.
If a facility manufactures both organic and non-organic substances, it must have proper measures in place to prevent contamination of the organic products with non-organic substances.
When it comes to labeling, these are the USDA’s requirements:
- For the seal to be used, at least 95% of the substance must include certified content.
- If a product states that it is made with organic content, it must have at least 70% certified content.
- Products that do not have more than 70% certified content may only list specific organic ingredients.
The seal cannot be used on products that are made up of less than 95% certified content.
Crop Standards
For crops, these are the standards that the USDA requires:
- Three consecutive years of not growing any prohibited substances on the land must have passed.
- The land will go through proper tillage, cultivation, rotations, cover crop planting and fertilization.
- Pests and weeds must remain properly controlled through approved measures.
- Organic seeds and planting stock are utilized.
- Prohibited activities are not used.
The USDA’s criteria are very specific. For example, it specifies that fertilization must be supplemented with animal and crop waste materials. Only some synthetic materials are permitted.
For pests and weeds, management includes mechanical, biological and physical controls. If these are insufficient to minimize problems, synthetic, botanical or other biological substances may be used. However, the USDA requires that the substances be included on the National List.
GMO seeds are not permitted. Also, sewage sludge and ionizing radiation are both prohibited.
Certification Steps
Petitioning manufacturers and suppliers are responsible for ensuring the quality and content of their consumable ingredients and packaging supplies. The certification process includes these important steps:
- Agency selection
- Application submission
- Review and verification
- On-site inspection
- Certification
After a supplier or manufacturer adopts organic practices, the entity must select a USDA-accredited agent who provides certification. State agricultural agencies often provide information for nearby agents. Once an application is received, the agent reviews it for compliance issues. If practices do not comply, the agent will specify those to the petitioning company.
If the practices are compliant, an inspection is scheduled and performed. The certifying agency reviews the inspection report to verify that it is in full compliance. If there are issues, the agency will notify the petitioner. A certificate is issued if the petitioner is in compliance.
Maintaining Certification
A certified entity must maintain certification by going through additional inspections and review processes. These are normally conducted on an annual basis. All procedures and requirements that were outlined for the initial inspection must be upheld to pass additional inspections.
How the USDA Handles Problems
If a supplier or manufacture does not comply with regulations, the USDA may take several actions. These are some potential actions:
- The USDA may issue a non-compliance notice with a required list of actions to take for full compliance.
- A proposal to suspend certification may be issued for a problem that can be fixed but persists.
- For multiple or major issues that remain unaddressed, the USDA may issue a proposal to revoke a certification.
Certified entities are given due processes to fix most types of problems when they are first identified. Willful violations are often met with revocation. Our facilities have strict standards in place to maintain all requirements, and our production staff members are trained to understand compliance measures.
Why Organic Certified Status Is Important
With growing concerns over GMOs and synthetic materials today, having Organic Certified supplements and packages can be a major benefit for your brand. These are some of the reasons why this certification is important:
- You have an opportunity to support organic suppliers.
- You can receive premium prices for your products.
- A certification seal is a strong indicator of excellence in quality.
- You can reach a broader market of consumers to grow your brand.
Why Work With Us for Organic Certified Supplement Manufacturing?
We are happy to help you make your organic supplements. Our company gives you these benefits when you choose us:
- A dedicated account executive.
- Excellent customer service at every step.
- Access to nearly any type of packaging or supplement form.
- Complex research and development, flavoring, formulation and other services.
Our facilities have handled the needs of all sizes of businesses, including several Fortune 500 entities. With our large supply chain and manufacturing capacity, we have the ability to handle your current needs and facilitate future expansions. We can also provide you with testing, safety and other documentation. Please contact us to learn more about our Organic Certified supplement manufacturing services.