Hain Celestial Personal Care Touts NSF/ANSI Organic Standard over USDA’s

Natural and organic personal care company Hain Celestial Group has transitioned to the NSF/ANSI 305 organic standard for its Avalon Organics and Earth’s Best Organic brands.

The NSF/ANSI 305 standard specifically applies to personal care products containing organic ingredients. Hain Celestial said it began switching over two years ago because the USDA’s organic-certification program does not provide specific organic standards for personal care products versus food and beverages. Under the NSF/ANSI 305 standard, which the company calls “stringent,” personal care products making an organic claim (other than the ingredient list) must contain a minimum 70% organic content and adhere to a list of forbidden ingredients and processes.

Hain Celestial points out that its products still meet the USDA organic standard. “All of the certified-organic ingredients in the Company’s products meet all federal requirements pursuant to the USDA’s National Organic Program,” says Emma Froelich-Shea, vice president of marketing, personal care. “They are certified organic by organizations including Quality Assurance International (QAI), Oregon Tilth, EcoCert, and many other respected third-party certification agencies.”

The company has completed reformulating its products to adhere to the NSF/ANSI 305 standard and is now in the process of revising its product labels to reflect the change. The process is expected to be complete by November.

The company adds that its JASON, Zia, and Alba Botanica brands have also revised their labeling “to identify as organic only specific ingredients on products’ ingredient lists.”