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You are here: NPIC Home Page Pesticide Ingredients Organic Pesticide Ingredients

Organic Pesticide Ingredients

Organic foods are not necessarily pesticide-free. The pesticides that are allowed for organic food production are typically not manmade. They tend to have natural substances like soaps, lime sulfur and hydrogen peroxide as ingredients. Not all natural substances are allowed in organic agriculture; some chemicals like arsenic, strychnine and tobacco dust (nicotine sulfate) are prohibited.

• Learn about the differences between organic and conventional food production. Terms like "free-range", "hormone-free", and "natural" do not mean organic.
• Pesticide product labels may display a certain logo, indicating they meet USDA criteria for use in organic production. Organic farms may need to follow additional rules specified by their accredited certifying agent.
• If you're thinking about going organic, you can learn about the certification process here.

If you have questions about this, or any pesticide-related topic, please call NPIC at 1-800-858-7378 (8:00am - 12:00pm PST), or email us at npic@ace.orst.edu.

Additional Resources:

• Organic Labeling - USDA National Organic Program
• Organic Regulations - USDA National Organic Program
• USDA Guidance for Approved Inert Ingredients - USDA National Organic Program
• OMRI Certified Product Lists - Organic Materials Review Institute
• Labeling of Pesticide Products under the National Organic Program - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances - Code of Federal Regulations
• Farms that are Certified Organic - U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• Organic Farm Certification and the National Organic Program - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service - ATTRA
• Organic-Approved Pesticides - Minimizing Risks to Pollinators - The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

Related Topics:

What are pests?

What are pesticides?

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NPIC provides objective, science-based information about pesticides and pesticide-related topics to enable people to make informed decisions. NPIC is a cooperative agreement between Oregon State University and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (cooperative agreement #X8-83560101). The information in this publication does not in any way replace or supersede the restrictions, precautions, directions, or other information on the pesticide label or any other regulatory requirements, nor does it necessarily reflect the position of the U.S. EPA.