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: 15:23
An organic label is a regulated claim, not just marketing, and this video covers the rules that govern what goes on the package. It explains how your composition category sets what you can say on the front panel and when you may show the USDA organic seal, then moves to the information panel requirements, the strict design and color rules for the USDA organic seal itself, and the prominence rule that applies when you also display your certifier’s logo. The video covers more than the retail package, extending to the labeling of nonretail containers and to livestock feed, whose tags have to satisfy commercial feed naming and state law alongside the organic identifiers. Throughout, the emphasis is on the one step that prevents costly mistakes, getting your certifier’s written approval before anything goes to print, and handlers share what a missed detail cost them. Watch this video when you’re designing packaging for a new product or changing a label you already have in the market.
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.