What "organic" means on pet food — a five-jurisdiction regulatory map
"Organic" is one of the few pet-food marketing terms that is genuinely regulated — but where the rule lives, and what it requires, differs by market. This map summarises the first-hand definition each jurisdiction applies. Every quoted clause is a verbatim substring of a government or association source.
United States — USDA National Organic Program
In the US, organic claims defer to the USDA National Organic Program. The NOP defines the term verbatim in 7 CFR 205.2: "Organic. A labeling term that refers to an agricultural product produced in accordance with the Act and the regulations in this part" — "the Act" being the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990. FDA regulates truthfulness of pet-food labelling but does not define "organic" itself.
European Union — dedicated organic-production regulation
In the EU, the legal basis is Regulation (EU) 2018/848 — "on organic production and labelling of organic products" — which repeals Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007. An "organic" label claim is therefore governed by this dedicated regulation, not by general feed law; a pet food bearing the claim must comply with its production and labelling rules (permitted substances, certification, logo conditions).
The FEDIAF Code of Good Labelling Practice (§5.2.4.4) adds the trade-layer note: pending detailed pet-food processing rules, national or recognised private standards apply; the EU organic logo may be used "provided all requirements of the EU organic legislation are complied with"; and the term covers any suggestion of organic components ("bio", "biological", "eco" etc.).
Canada — Safe Food for Canadians Regulations
Canada governs organic claims through Part 13 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR). Per CFIA, claims such as "Organic", "Contains X percent organic ingredients", or use of the Canada Organic logo require the livestock feed to "meet all of the conditions of Part 13".
South Korea — Environment-Friendly Agriculture Act
Korea ties the term to the Environment-Friendly Agriculture Act; "organic" is permitted only under that statute's framework (per MAFRA emphasised-labelling rules).
China — honest gap
No in-repo first-hand verbatim organic definition for pet feed was retrievable this session. The relevant standard, GB/T 19630, is JS-gated on the SAMR open-standards platform and the text is scanned, so it cannot be quoted first-hand. This is recorded as an honest gap, not filled with second-hand prose.
Sources
label_claim_matrix— five-term × five-jurisdiction claim-definition crosswalk (organic cell: US NOP / EU FEDIAF §5.2.4.4 / CA SFCR Part 13 / KR Environment-Friendly Agriculture Act / CN honest gap); status matrix and per-term notes.label_claim_eu_organic_2018_848— EU Reg (EU) 2018/848 identity and that it governs organic production and labelling and repeals Council Reg (EC) No 834/2007.