Organic Claim
Only products with organic content that is greater than or equal to 95% may be labelled or advertised as “organic” or bear the organic logo. Terms such as “organically grown”, “organically raised, “organically produced”, or similar words, abbreviations of, symbols for and phonetic renderings of these words are considered the same as “organic” claims and must meet the same requirements.
For multi-ingredient products, the organic contents must be identified as organic in the list of ingredients.
The label of an organic product subject to the Organic Products Regulations must bear the name of the certification body that has certified the product as organic.
Organic Ingredients Claim
Multi-ingredient products containing between 95-100% organic content
Claims indicating “X% organic ingredients” where X is anywhere from 95-100% are permitted. However, the claim “organic” is encouraged as all products with 95% and over organic content may use this claim.
Multi-ingredient products containing between 70-<95% organic content
These products may use the declaration “contains x% organic ingredients” on the label or in advertising, specifying the percentage of organic ingredients. These products may not use the organic logo nor the claim “organic”.
Conditions of use
If the declaration “contains x% organic ingredients” is used:
- the words “organic ingredients” must be of the same size and prominence as the preceding words, numbers, signs or symbols that indicate the applicable percentage.
- The organic contents must be identified as organic in the list of ingredients.
- The label of an organic product subject to the Organic Products Regulations must bear the name of the certification body that has certified the product as organic.
Multi-ingredient products containing less than 70% organic content
These products may identify organic ingredients in the list of ingredients as organic. These products may not use the organic logo nor the claims “organic” or “contains x% organic ingredients”.
Language Requirements
When used, the “organic” and the “% organic ingredients” claims or statements must appear on the label in both French and English, unless a bilingual labelling exemption applies to the product.
Organic on Labels Accompanying Bulk Products
If an organic claim is made on a label accompanying a bulk product, such as on a tag or sticker, then the name of the certification body must also appear on this label. Example: this applies to the use of organic claims and the organic logo on a Price Look-Up (PLU) sticker.
If the Canada organic logo is on the accompanying label of an imported product, the statement “Product of” immediately preceding the country of origin, or the statement “Imported” must be in close proximity to the logo.
