What You'll Learn
- What your product's composition category allows you to say on the front of the package and what it prohibits
- How organic ingredients must be identified on the information panel
- The exact design rules for the USDA organic seal, including color, size, and what you can and can't change
- What nonretail container labels need to include and when you can skip the extra label
- Why getting certifier approval before you print is critical
Watch Time: 15:22
This video is about labeling organic products, and it treats the label as the last checkpoint for your organic claim before a customer sees it. It explores the label from the front of the package to the back, working through what you can claim on the principal display panel, what has to appear on the information panel, the design rules for the seal itself, and the extra requirements that nonretail containers and livestock feed tags carry.
The organizing idea is that your composition category sets the rules. Whether you land in “100% organic,” “organic,” or “made with organic” decides which claims are open to you, whether you can show the seal at all, and how the certifier statement and ingredient list have to read. From there the details are exact, down to font size, seal colors, and where the certifier’s name sits, and the video is clear that a small miss gets expensive.
Running underneath all of it is one instruction, which is to get every label approved in writing before it goes to print. Watch this before you design or update any packaging, and treat pre-approval as the step you never skip.
About the Featured Operations
Scratch & Peck Feeds
- Organic Livestock Feed
- Burlington, WA
- 30 Employees
- Certified Organic since 2013
A manufacturer of organic, non-GMO animal feeds built on near-food-grade grains rather than fillers, formulated for poultry, pigs, goats, and sheep. Its vision centers on health—for people, animals, and the land—and on encouraging wider adoption of organic agriculture through what it calls collective leadership.
TCHO Chocolate
- Organic Chocolate Maker
- Berkeley, CA
- Certified Organic since 2009
An organic chocolate maker focused on flavor and sustainability, built on the philosophy that better beans make a better bar. It works directly with cacao-farming communities in Ghana, Ecuador, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Madagascar, co-creating higher quality, and at times helping growers reach organic status, all without compromising on flavor.
Janie’s Mill
- Organic Stone-milled Flour
- Ashkum, IL
- 28 Employees
- Certified Organic since 2017
A stone mill producing flours from grain grown on partner farms and its own fields, with quality as its stated first priority. It sells wholesale to bakeries and retail to home bakers. The operation grew from a farming family’s interest in connecting good growers, careful milling, and bakers who value the resulting product.
Giant Jones Brewing Company
- Organic Brewery
- Madison, WI
- 4 Employees
- Certified Organic since 2019
A certified organic brewery run by women, specializing in strong beer styles such as barley wines and Belgian tripels, sold in returnable bottles. The focus on big beers lets it absorb the cost of organic ingredients. Its motivation is rooted in community, sustainability, and a belief in organic agriculture’s benefits for soil, water, and wildlife.