Organic food: labelling and advertising rules
Source: gov.uk (2025-08-20)

Rules on certifying and labelling organic food, feed and seed.

When you need certification

You must be certified by an approved UK organic control body (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/organic-food-uk-approved-control-bodies) to do any of the following relating to organic products in the UK:
- producing
- preparing
- storing
- importing
- exporting
- marketing
- selling
- contracting out any of the above to a third party
If you use a third party, they must also be certified by an approved UK organic control body (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/organic-food-uk-approved-control-bodies).

Your company must be based and certified in the UK to import organic products to the country. Find out more on importing organic products to the UK (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/importing-organic-food-to-the-uk).

Labelling products as organic

You can only label products as ‘organic’, or use terms relating to organic production methods, if:
- they meet organic production rules
- in food products, at least 95% of the agricultural ingredients are organic
- in feed products, at least 95% of the total product (by dry matter) is organic
- all other ingredients (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2008/889/annex/IX), additives and processing aids (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2008/889/annex/VIII) are listed as permitted within the organic regulations
- the product and any suppliers are certified by an approved organic control body
Contact your control body for guidance on organic production rules.

Other terms relating to organic methods include:
- organically grown
- organically produced
- grown or produced using organic principles
- grown or produced using organic methods
The rules also apply to company names or brand names. For example, you could not use the name ‘Smith’s Organic’ for a non-organic product or business.

You are breaking the law if you state ‘organic’ in the labelling, advertising material, ingredients or commercial documents of a food, feed or seed product if it has not been inspected and certified.

If your organic food has less than 95% organic ingredients

You must be certified by an approved UK organic control body if both of the following apply:
- your organic food contains less than 95% organic agricultural ingredients
- you wish to make organic claims on the labelling or in the marketing
You can only use ‘organic’ in the ingredients list on the label or accompanying documentation. You cannot include ‘organic’ in the product name or description. For example, the ingredients panel of your label may include ‘organic sugar’ in a list of other ingredients.

Processed feed

There are separate rules for labelling processed feed that has less than 95% organic ingredients.

You are allowed to label processed feed as ‘organic’ if:
- the processed feed complies with the relevant organic regulations
- all ingredients of plant or animal origin contained in the processed feed are certified organic
- at least 95% of the product’s dry matter is comprised of organic agricultural products
When labelling processed feed as organic, your labels should:
- be separate to labelling that is required under the wider feed labelling regulations
- be presented in a colour, format or character font that does not draw more attention to it than to the description or name of the animal feed that is required under wider feed labelling regulations
- include a breakdown, by percentage, of the origin of the dry matter components
- be accompanied by a list of names of feed materials from the organic production method
Contact your control body (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/organic-food-uk-approved-control-bodies) for full guidance on all labelling requirements.

Get your label approved by a UK organic control body

If you use organic terms anywhere on your product labels, you should have the labels approved by your approved UK organic control body (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/organic-food-uk-approved-control-bodies). You can decide which control body to register with based on your location and business needs.

If you use a third party to label your product, they will also need to be registered and approved by an organic control body.

It is your responsibility to ensure your labels comply with the regulations. If you do not comply with the label requirements, your control body could stop you labelling your food as organic.

What you need to include on your labelling

You must include:
- your control body code number
- a statement of agricultural origin
Control body code number

Labels must include the code number of the control body that certified the product labelling company.

For products labelled in Great Britain, the code number format is ‘GB-ORG-XX’.

For products labelled in Northern Ireland, the code number format is ‘XI-ORG-XX’.

If you are exporting your food, the label must also include the control body code. The GB code shows the food is certified to the Great Britain organic domestic regulations. The XI code indicates it is certified to the organic standards in Northern Ireland. Non-UK organic food usually has a different 3-letter code. The code normally has the format ‘XX-BIO-XXX’.

Find the codes you need for food:
- from outside the UK in the non-UK organic registers (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/organic-registers-lists-of-third-countries-or-territories-control-bodies-and-control-authorities)
- from within the UK in the list of approved UK organic control bodies (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/organic-registers-lists-of-third-countries-or-territories-control-bodies-and-control-authorities)
Statement of agricultural origin in Great Britain

You must include one of the following statements on labels on all organic pre-packed food produced in Great Britain:
- ‘UK Agriculture’ – if the agricultural ingredients are produced in the UK
- ‘UK or non-UK Agriculture’ – if the food is produced using a mixture of agricultural ingredients grown in the UK and outside the UK
- ‘Non-UK Agriculture’ – if the agricultural ingredients are produced outside the UK
You must not remove or deliberately omit this information.

An operator can use more specific references if 98% of a food’s agricultural ingredients are grown in a specific country. For example, Welsh lamb can be labelled as ‘Welsh Agriculture’.

Statement of agricultural origin in Northern Ireland

The statement of agricultural origin in Northern Ireland follows the same rules as GB, depending on the operator using one of the following in place of ‘UK’:
- ‘UK (NI) Agriculture’
- ‘United Kingdom (Northern Ireland) Agriculture’
- ‘EU Agriculture’
- ‘EU or non-EU Agriculture’ – if the food is produced using a mixture of agricultural ingredients grown in the EU or Northern Ireland and outside the EU or Northern Ireland
The agricultural statement must be in the same visual field as the EU logo and must be directly below the certifier code. This is to make it clear that the goods were produced under the organic regulations applicable in Northern Ireland.

Other phrases must be avoided as they may be ambiguous.

Using the EU logo in Great Britain

You may include the EU organic logo on organic food produced in Great Britain.

If you do, the food must meet the EU organic logo labelling requirements (https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/farming/organic-farming/organic-logo_en) and include an EU statement of agricultural origin (‘EU’ or ‘Non-EU Agriculture’). ‘EU’ and ‘non-EU’ may be replaced by the name of a country, or a country and a region, if all the agricultural raw materials have been farmed in that country or region. For example, ‘UK Agriculture’.

The agricultural statement must be in the same visual field as the EU logo and must be directly below the certifier code.

Using the EU logo in Northern Ireland

You must include the EU organic logo on prepacked organic food produced in Northern Ireland.

The agricultural statement must be in the same visual field as the EU logo and must be directly below the certifier code.