Overview
The Upcycled Certified® Program is the world’s first third-party certification program for upcycled food ingredients and products. Our program allows consumers to reduce food waste and participate in the #1 solution to mitigate the climate crisis (according to Project Drawdown) every time they purchase an Upcycled Certified® product. The flagship of the Program is the on-package mark, which helps retailers feature upcycled products on shelf, and indicates to consumers which products are Upcycled Certified®. Developed by the Upcycled Food Association, the mark highlights upcycled ingredients and products procured and produced with surplus food or food by-products from manufacturing, that use verifiable supply chains and have a positive impact on the environment.
Upcycled Certified® Marks
INGREDIENTS & PRODUCTS
Vertical
Horizontal
Certified Upcycled Ingredients (UIs) and Product Containing Upcycled Ingredients (PUIs) may use either Mark format.
MINIMAL CONTENT
Minimal content products shall only use this one format.
Upcycled Certified™ Types
INGREDIENT
Upcycled Ingredient (UI)
≥95% UPCYCLED INPUT(S) BY WEIGHT
Input(s) originally produced for use in human food that otherwise would not have gone to human use/ consumption, procured and produced using verifiable supply chains, and have a positive impact on the environment that meets the criteria set forth within this Standard and is certified as such. UIs may be consumer facing goods or used in a PUI or Minimal Content PUI assuming compliance with requirements of the Standard. UIs shall be composed of an aggregate of ≥95% upcycled Input(s). UIs may comprise multiple Inputs as long as it meets the criteria of ≥95% diverted material.*
PRODUCT
Product Containing Upcycled Ingredients (PUI)
≥10% UPCYCLED INPUT(S) BY WEIGHT OR THRESHOLD MET FOR TOTAL TONNAGE DIVERTED
Includes, but is not limited to, a food, menu item, beverage, dietary supplement, companion pet food, cosmetic, personal care, or household cleaning product that includes Inputs and is intended for human use/ consumption. PUIs shall include Inputs and meet the criteria set forth within this Standard and are certified as such. PUIs shall be composed of an aggregate of ≥10% upcycled Input(s) or meet the tonnage diverted threshold (See Table 1). Single or multi component Inputs (certified as a UI, PUI, Minimal Content PUI, or otherwise) may be used within a PUI seeking certification.*
MINIMAL CONTENT
Products with Minimal Upcycled Ingredient Content
<10% UPCYCLED INPUT(S) BY WEIGHT OR CONTENT LESS THAN THRESHOLD FOR TOTAL TONNAGE DIVERTED
A PUI that meets all requirements set forth within this Standard but does not meet or exceed the thresholds for an aggregate of ≥10% Input(s) content by weight or tonnage diverted as a result of yearly production. Restaurant menu items may not use the Minimal Content Mark. Otherwise, it can be assumed that Sections and requirements referring to PUIs extend to Minimal Content PUIs unless explicitly stated within the Standard.*
*These are brief summaries for quick reference only. If you’re unsure of what your product qualifies for, reference the full requirements, including the thresholds for tonnage diverted for each sales tier, as outlined in the Upcycled Certified™ Standard V2.