What the FDA Has To Say About "Organic"

What the FDA's Job is in Regards to Organic vs Certified Organic Companies

  This information is taken right from the FDA (yeah I know boring and long right?) I got sucked into reading and it became good information for me to post and probably something you wouldn't normally find and read on your own assuming. I have summarized at the bottom what the FDA is saying.

Does FDA have a definition for the term “organic”?
No. FDA regulates cosmetics under the authority of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) and the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA). The term “organic” is not defined in either of these laws or the regulations that FDA enforces under their authority.

How is the term “organic” regulated?

The Agricultural Marketing Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) oversees the National Organic Program (NOP). The NOP regulations include a definition of “organic” and provide for certification that agricultural ingredients have been produced under conditions that would meet the definition. They also include labeling standards based on the percentage of organic ingredients in a product. For more information on "organic" labeling for cosmetics, see the NOP publication, "Cosmetics, Body Care Products, and Personal Care Products." 

If a cosmetic is labeled “organic” according to the USDA, is it still subject to the laws and regulations enforced by FDA?

Yes. The USDA requirements for the use of the term “organic” are separate from the laws and regulations that FDA enforces for cosmetics. Cosmetic products labeled with organic claims must comply with both USDA regulations for the organic claim and FDA regulations for labeling and safety requirements for cosmetics. Information on FDA’s regulation of cosmetics is available on our Cosmetics website. (this is important!)

Are cosmetics made with “organic” ingredients (not organically certified) safer for consumers than those made with ingredients from other sources?

No. An ingredient’s source does not determine its safety. For example, many plants, whether or not they are organically grown, contain substances that may be toxic or allergenic. For more on this subject, see FDA Poisonous Plant Database. Under the FD&C Act, all cosmetic products and ingredients are subject to the same safety requirement: They must be safe for consumers under labeled or customary conditions of use (FD&C Act, section 601(a). Companies and individuals who market cosmetics have a legal responsibility to ensure that their products and ingredients are safe for the intended use. Source: http://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/labeling/ucm203078.htm#Does_FDA

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So in my own words this is saying when someone tells me it doesn't matter if we use a certified organic or non certified product, when in fact it does matter. I also get said to me often how "who trusts the FDA anyways?" Well, yeah I agree hence why CERTIFIED organic regulations are monitored by the NOP (National Organic Program). If you are buying a product and it isn't CERTIFIED organic then you are basically trusting the FDA and/or company you are buying from that what they are saying is true and of good faith and that product has the same guidelines and restrictions as a non organic product. So this is why certified organic is so important in all purchases. You have the NOP regulating and actually monitoring. They HAVE to do their job of checking out companies that are certified organic cause IT IS THEIR JOB and honestly they do it well. I have posted before a letter from the FDA to companies stating you cant use the certified seal (the NOP busted them) cause you are not actually certified. Saying "organic" in your title or ingredients without the certification doesnt mean anything more than the people using non organic ingredients. So this is WHY the certification is so important and why I choose either wildcrafted or USDA certified organic essential oils.

Look for the "seal" of approval

On a side note: I had someone tell me their "farmers" go beyond organic...there is no such thing as BEYOND organic besides wildcrafted which is a plant growing in the wild, a farmer didnt plant any seeds it just grew from nature. (by the way this isn't noted on this companies products so definitely isn't a wildcrafted company/product line) 

Check to see which companies have the USDA certification. 

https://apps.ams.usda.gov/Integrity/Default.aspx

Let me know if you have questions this can be confusing! 

-EO Nerd