According to the Organic Food Production Act of 1990 (OPFA) 95%* of the ingredients of any product labeled organic must be certified organic.

*The other 5% typically represents minor ingredients such as herbs and spices or if some organic products are not available.

Consumers can estimate the percentage of organically produced products by observing how the product label is worded.

There are three basic levels of organic product labeling:

For a product to display the word organic on the front of the label and refer to the product as being organic it must be made up of 95% or more oganic ingredients.

And if a product contains two to three main organic ingredients it must make up at least 50% of the ingredients and the label can only state the word organic in conjunction with these particular ingredients.

If less than 50% of the product is organic the product can only mention it under the ingredients panel. Not on the front as the main product.

Let's use soup for example:

If the product reads organic vegetable soup, then the soup must contain 95% or more certified organic ingredients. And if the products label reads Soup made with organic vegetables, then the soup can have no less then 50% certified organic vegetables. Finally, if the soup has less than 50% organic ingredients organic will be defined under the ingredients panel only.

By California standards "organically grown and processed in accordance with the California Foods Act of 1990" must be printed somewhere on the product to insure certification.

You will also notice that organic products generally contain a shorter list of ingredients than that of the equivalent conventional product. This is because with minimal processing, they contain no growth hormones, or extra non-essential preservatives or stabalizers. You won't find any butylated hydroxytoluene. Just simple natural preservatives like citric acid, pectin or baking soda.