Standards & schemes
US Department of Agriculture
In brief
The USDA BioPreferred Program is a US federal programme established in the 2002 Farm Bill and codified at 7 CFR part 3202, with two functions: mandatory federal purchasing preference for bio-based products in designated categories, and a voluntary Certified Biobased Product label. Certification is grounded in ASTM D6866 radiocarbon testing, which measures the bio-based carbon share of a product against the minimum set in each category rulemaking. The certified product catalogue is public and searchable, making verification of a "USDA Certified Biobased" claim straightforward. Two claim limits matter: the label certifies bio-based content only — it says nothing about biodegradability, compostability or toxicity — and the programme was established to support agricultural markets and federal procurement, not as a comprehensive environmental standard. The federal procurement side of the programme obliges US government agencies to prefer designated bio-based categories, giving certification a market function beyond consumer marketing. Categories and their minimum bio-based contents are set through formal rulemaking, so the threshold behind any label is a matter of public regulation. Certification supports a bio-based-content claim for the tested product at the certified percentage; it does not by itself substantiate broader environmental or end-of-life wording.
Conditional relationships
A relationship does not mean that the standard proves or validates every use of a claim.
Recognition & legal context
No reviewed law references are published.
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