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HomeHealth and Safety CodeDiv. 104Pt. 5Ch. 5Art. 7§ 110815 Organic Food Definitions

§ 110815 Organic Food Definitions

Health and Safety Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 110815 Organic Food Definitions

Key Takeaways

  • •This law defines special words used in rules about organic food in California.
  • •It explains what 'organic' means and who can use that word on food labels.
  • •It lists what kinds of food changes (like cooking or freezing) count as 'processing'.
  • •Some materials are not allowed in organic food - they're called 'prohibited materials'.

Example

A company makes dog food and wants to label it 'organic'.

The company must follow these rules about what 'organic' means. They can't use any prohibited materials in the dog food. If they cook or package the food, that counts as 'processing' under this law.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 110815 Organic Food Definitions

Unless otherwise defined pursuant to the National Organic Program, the following words and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the following meanings: (a)  “Animal food” means any food intended to be fed to any household animal, including, but not limited to, cats, or dogs and other carnivores. It does not include “feed” intended for livestock as defined in Section 205.2 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (b)  “Director” means the Director of the Department of Health Services. (c)  “Enforcement authority” means the governmental unit with primary enforcement jurisdiction, as provided in Section 110930. (d)  “Handle” means to sell, process, or package agricultural products. (e)  “Handler” means any person engaged in the business of handling agricultural products, but does not include final retailers of agricultural products that do not process agricultural products. (f)  “Handling operation” means any operation or portion of an operation, except final retailers of agricultural products that do not process agricultural products, that (1) receives or otherwise acquires agricultural products and (2) processes, packages, or stores agricultural products. (g)  “NOP” means the National Organic Program established pursuant to the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. Sec. 6501 et seq.) and the regulations adopted for implementation. (h)  “Processing” means cooking, baking, heating, drying, mixing, grinding, churning, separating, extracting, cutting, fermenting, eviscerating, preserving, dehydrating, freezing, or otherwise manufacturing, and includes packaging, canning, jarring, or otherwise enclosing food in a container. (i)  “Prohibited materials” means any materials prohibited under regulations adopted by (Section 6517 of the federal Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. Sec. 6501 et seq.)). For products not covered by the National Organic Program, prohibited materials are anything not on the approved list. (j)  “Secretary” means the Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. (k)  “Sold as organic” means any use of the terms “organic,” “organically grown,” or grammatical variations of those terms, whether orally or in writing, in connection with any product grown, handled, processed, sold, or offered for sale in this state, including, but not limited to, any use of these terms in labeling or advertising of any product and any ingredient in a multi-ingredient product. ( l)  “USDA” means the United States Department of Agriculture. (Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 726, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 2004.)

Last verified: January 23, 2026

Key Terms

enforcementoperationfinehealthdirectorregulationportsecretary

Related Statutes

  • § 18552 Mobilehome Accessory Building Standards
  • § 110845 Organic Product Inspection Records
  • § 17964 Local Building Code Enforcement
  • § 18613 Mobilehome Installation Permits
  • § 44072.10 Smog Check License Suspension

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Health and Safety Code. Section 110815.
View Official Source