USDA Organic
What it is
USDA Organic is the federal organic certification run by the National Organic Program (NOP) under the Agricultural Marketing Service. Unlike private seals, its standards are federal regulation with legal enforcement.
What it covers
Organic integrity for food and agricultural products, including the fiber and personal-care supply chains that carry organic claims: prohibited pesticides, synthetic additives, and process requirements from farm through handling.
How to verify
Search the USDA Organic INTEGRITY Database at organic.ams.usda.gov/integrity/ for the producing operation. The lookup is interactive (JavaScript required); the same data is available programmatically through USDA's public developer API and monthly public-domain snapshots.
How SafeMama uses it
Certification status renders as a text badge on product cards and can be ingested freely (US public domain data). Every claim links to the operation's INTEGRITY record with the lookup date.
Limitations / conflicts
Certification attaches to operations and defined product scopes, not to every SKU a brand sells — verify the specific operation. "Organic" claims on cosmetics are only partially covered by NOP scope.
Verify it yourself
Don't take our word for it — check the source directly. Certifications lapse and data changes; the official database is always the current answer.
Worth knowing
- Certification applies to operations and their certified product scopes; verify the specific operation in the INTEGRITY database