ByeGly

Updated November 11, 2026

Certifications explained

ByeGly lists products that carry one of the named residue certifications, and farms that are USDA Certified Organic. They work in different ways. None of them is a health claim, and "not detected" is not the same as zero.

At a glance

Glyphosate Residue Free BioChecked Non-Glyphosate CleanScan Certificate of Compliance USDA Certified Organic
Type Residue certification for a product or ingredient Residue certification for a product Residue certification for a product Production and handling standard
What is checked Lab tests of the product Lab tests of the product Lab tests of the product How the food is grown and handled
Testing frequency stated by the program At least three times a year, plus spot checks1 Each year, with possible random spot checks2 Per the certifier's program Not a residue certification. Residue testing can be done; above 5% of the EPA tolerance, the product cannot be sold as organic3
Usual detection limit About 0.01 ppm1 About 0.01 ppm2 Per the certifier's program Not a residue certification
What it does not mean Not zero. Not a farm-practice certification Not zero. Not a farm-practice certification Not zero. Not a farm-practice certification Not a lab test of every product. Residue can still occur
How ByeGly uses it Product listings, when the brand's page or certifier's directory names it Product listings, when the brand's page or certifier's directory names it Product listings, when the brand's page or certifier's directory names it Farm map, from the USDA Organic Integrity Database

Glyphosate Residue Free

What it is. A third-party certification for a single ingredient, a single-ingredient product or a multi-ingredient product. It certifies the product, not the farm.1

How a product qualifies. The program's public page says:1

  • A third-party laboratory accredited to ISO 17025 tests the product.
  • The lab uses liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).
  • Results must show no glyphosate detected at the lab's limit of detection, which the program says is usually 0.01 parts per million (ppm), and must be under U.S. EPA residue limits.
  • The program says each certified product is tested at least three times a year, with spot checks.

What it does and doesn't mean.

  • It means a lab did not detect glyphosate in the samples tested, at that detection limit.
  • It does not mean zero. A detection limit is the smallest amount a test can reliably find.
  • It is not a statement about how a farm grows its crops.
  • It is not a health claim.

On ByeGly. A product gets this label only when the brand's own public page names Glyphosate Residue Free. We do not copy the certifier's directory, text or logo.

BioChecked Non-Glyphosate

What it is. A separate third-party certification with its own testing rules. It is not the same program as Glyphosate Residue Free, and we never combine the two labels.2

How a product qualifies. The program's public page says:2

  • The product is tested each year by a laboratory accredited to ISO/IEC 17025.
  • Testing uses LC-MS/MS, with a limit of detection typically of 0.01 ppm.
  • Results must show no detectable glyphosate.
  • The program reviews the results and keeps them for one year, with renewals as needed, and may run random spot checks.

What it does and doesn't mean. As with any residue test, "not detected" is not zero. It applies to the product, not to a farm's practices. It is not a health claim.

On ByeGly. We use this label only when a brand's own public page names BioChecked Non-Glyphosate.

CleanScan Certificate of Compliance

What it is. A separate named residue certification we confirmed at the source we link. We keep it separate from the other certifications and never merge the labels.

What it does and doesn't mean. As with any residue test, "not detected" is not zero. It applies to the product, not to a farm's practices. A listing is not a health claim.

On ByeGly. We use this label when the brand's own product page or the certifier's directory names CleanScan Certificate of Compliance for that exact product.

USDA Certified Organic

What it is. A federal standard for how food is grown and handled, set by the USDA National Organic Program. It is not a residue certification.

The glyphosate rule. Synthetic substances are not allowed in organic crop production unless they are on the National List. The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service gives glyphosate as an example: "herbicides containing the synthetic material glyphosate are prohibited."4

Residue testing. Organic rules allow residue testing. If testing finds a prohibited substance above 5% of EPA's tolerance for that residue, or above unavoidable residual environmental contamination, the product "must not be sold, labeled, or represented as organically produced."3 That means a small residue below that limit does not by itself remove organic status.

Why residue can still occur. The rule is about what a certified farm may apply, not a promise of no residue. The organic regulation itself allows for "unavoidable residual environmental contamination."3 Our approved method notes also name spray drift, shared equipment and handling as ways residue can reach organic food.

Labels. USDA uses four label levels: "100 percent organic," "organic" (at least 95% organic ingredients), "made with organic" (at least 70%), and products that list organic ingredients only in the ingredient list. Only the first two may show the USDA Certified Organic seal.5 See How to read a label.

On ByeGly. Our farm map starts from the USDA Organic Integrity Database, the government's list of USDA Certified Organic operations. We include U.S. operations with a current Certified status and a crops scope. Each farm page shows the date of the USDA data we matched it against.

Which one should I look for?

They answer different questions:

  • Residue certifications (Glyphosate Residue Free, BioChecked Non-Glyphosate, CleanScan Certificate of Compliance) answer: did a lab detect glyphosate in this product at the detection limit?
  • USDA Certified Organic answers: was this grown under rules that do not allow glyphosate?

A product can carry both kinds of mark. Neither is a health claim. ByeGly is not affiliated with the Glyphosate Residue Free program, the BioChecked Non-Glyphosate program, the CleanScan Certificate of Compliance program, or USDA.

Sources

Footnotes

  1. the certifier's program page ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  2. the certifier's program page ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  3. 7 CFR § 205.671, Exclusion from organic sale (eCFR): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-7/subtitle-B/chapter-I/subchapter-M/part-205/subpart-G/subject-group-ECFR91a50748a9959c1/section-205.671 ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  4. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Synthetic Substances Allowed for Use in Organic Crop Production: https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/synthetic-substances-crop-production ↩

  5. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Labeling Organic Products: https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/organic/labeling ↩