Certification Standard for Plant-Based Products

This standard (SCS-109) is applicable to processed foods and ingredients, household cleaning products, dietary supplements, topical products, and pet foods for which an organization wishes to demonstrate their products are plant-based. This standard covers product formulation, manufacturing, and management practices to verify that products are not animal-derived and do not contain any ingredients that are animal-derived. Certification against SCS-109 supports accurate and transparent labeling to increase consumer confidence when making plant-based purchases. Plant-based products for human or animal consumption must have at least 95% of plant-derived ingredients by weight in the finished product, and plant-based body care products must have more than 50% of plant-derived ingredients by weight in the finished product. 

For complete information about all standard criteria, download "SCS-109 Plant-Based Standard V1.4" (see Documents section).

Assurance System:

Conformance with SCS-109 requirements is assessed through annual audits conducted by SCS Global Services, a qualified and independent third party. Audits are conducted according to scheme-specific and relevant international standards. For full details about the SCS-109 assurance system, download “SCS-109 Certification Body Requirements” (see Documents section, to right).

Empowering Consumers: 

For information about how SCS-109 and other SCS Standards meet the EU Empowering Consumers Directive, see “SCS Standards and the EU Empowering Consumers Directive.”

SCS Standards Operations: 

For information about SCS Standards policies and procedures, see our Resources.