Amazon Requirements For “Organic” Labeling of Foods

Amazon Requirements For “Organic” Labeling of Foods

May 18, 2021 By

According to a keynote speech during New Hope Network’s Spark Brand Success event in March of 2021, organic food and beverage sales in the United States rose 13% to $186 billion during 2020.1 This growth is particularly noteworthy because the Organic Food and Beverage category is typically vulnerable to economic downturns. Perhaps not surprisingly, of late we’ve fielded a lot of questions from organic product manufacturers and distributors who are looking to find out what, exactly, are the Amazon requirements for organic foods.

If you fall into the category of persons seeking more clarity about Amazon’s requirements for organic foods, we hope this brief article will help shed some light.

It basically comes down to this: if you want to sell a product on Amazon in the United States that uses the term “Organic”, you must follow the rules and regulations as set out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The use of the term applies to products that claim to be organic or claim that certain ingredients are organic. However, in addition to that, Amazon specifically requires that organic products must:

  1. Be produced in accordance with the USDA organic requirements;
  2. Comply with organic labeling requirements; and
  3. Identify the name of the product’s certifier.2

These products must be certified by the USDA or by an international standard accepted by USDA (with certain restrictions). The accepted international certifications include:

  1. EU Organic
  2. Canada Organic Regime (COR)
  3. Taiwan Organic
  4. Japan Organic
  5. Korean Organic
  6. Swiss Organic
  7. UK Organic3

If you have any questions about Amazon’s requirements or need help becoming compliant with USDA Organic regulations, please contact us.

References:

  1. Mast, C. “Keynote Address”. Spark Brand Success Event by the New Hope Network. 3 Mar. 2021
  2. Amazon. “Organic Products”. Retrieved 17 May 2021 from: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/external/WK5PALSS4EM4MCT?language=en_US&ref=efph_WK5PALSS4EM4MCT_cont_200164550
  3. USDA. “USDA Organic”. Retrieved 17 May 2021 from: https://www.usda.gov/topics/organic