Paleo Certification Standards

PALEO CERTIFICATION STANDARDS

Paleo Certification Standards

 

Certified Paleo is the Paleo Foundation’s Most Popular and Highest Level Certification for Paleo-compliant products.  Certified Paleo Products are products that contain Paleo ingredients, but may have some 21st-century processing or packaging methods allowing for shelf stability. Here you will find our Paleo Certification Standards.

 

 

 

GRAIN, AND PSEUDOGRAIN- FREE REQUIREMENTS:

All Products should not contain grains or pseudograins to be eligible for use of the Certified Paleo label.

Disallowed Grains and Pseudograins:

Barley, Rice, Bulgur, Kamut, Oats, Spelt, Teff, Wheat, Wheat Berries, Triticale, Corn, Hominy, Rye, and Sorghum; as well as pseudograins: Amaranth, Quinoa, and Buckwheat.

LEGUME- FREE REQUIREMENTS:

All Products should not contain legumes to be eligible for the Certified Paleo Program.

Disallowed Legumes:

Beans, Lentils, Peas, Peanuts, Soy and Soy derivatives, and Tempeh.

DAIRY-FREE REQUIREMENTS

Certified Paleo Products should not contain dairy ingredients to be eligible for use of the Certified Paleo label.  For the purpose of this definition, eggs are not considered dairy. 

Disallowed Dairy Ingredients:

Cheeses, Milk, Milk Derivatives, Yogurts, Cream, Evaporated Milk, Caseinates.

 

Allowed Dairy Ingredients:

Ghee from grass-fed and pastured animals.

ADDITIVE-FREE REQUIREMENTS

Certified Paleo Products must not contain Artificial Coloring, Preservatives,  Sweeteners, Flavorings, or Flavor Enhancers to be eligible for use of the Certified Paleo Label. 

Disallowed Colorings Include (but are not limited to):

Coloring Derived from coal, tar, or petroleum, FD&C Blue No.1, FD&C Blue No. 2, FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow No. 5, FD&C Yellow No. 6, Tartrazine, Caramel.

 

Disallowed Preservatives Include (but are not limited to):

BHA and BHT, TBHQ, Propionic Acid and Propionates, Sodium Ethyl Para Hydroxybenzoate, Hexamine, Tetramine, Citric Acid e330, Potassium Ferrocyanide.

 

Disallowed Artificial Sweeteners Include (but are not limited to):

Aspartame, Potassium Acesulphame, Cyclamates, Alcohol Sugars with the exception of naturally-derived alcohol sugars, Corn Syrups, Acesulfame Potassium, Neotame.

 

Disallowed Flavor Enhancers Include (but are not limited to):

Glutamates, Guanylates, Inosinates.

 

Disallowed Flavors Include (but are not limited to):

Artificial and natural esters, essences, or flavors created in a laboratory by blending either “natural” chemicals or “synthetic” chemicals to create flavorings.

 

Allowed Natural Flavors Include:

Essential oils, oleoresin, extractives, distillate, or any product of roasting, or heating which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional” derived from spice, fruits or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf, or similar plant.

ALLOWED INGREDIENTS:

The following ingredients are eligible for use of the Certified Paleo label. They will be amended from time to time as necessary.  These ingredients include, but are not limited to:

Meats

Herbivores must be 100% grass-fed, forage-fed, and pastured. Omnivores should be pastured. USDA inspected, wild-harvested, wild-caught, or trapped animals allowed.

Seafood

Must be Wild-Caught, with the exception of bivalves.

 

Fruits and Vegetables

All vegetables and fruits are allowed.  Vegetable JuicesSea vegetables, Seaweed, Algae, Dried Fruits, Fruit Juices, Berries. 

Oils and Fats

Grass-fed and Pastured tallow, lard, and ghee. All nut oils are allowed, as well as Avocado Oil, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil,  High-Oleic Sunflower Oil, Red Palm Oil, and Palm Shortening. 

Flours

All nut flours are allowed. Other allowed flours include, but are not limited to: sweet potato flour, coconut flour, tapioca flour, arrowroot flour, cassava flour, and tigernut flour 

 

Milks

All nut milks are allowed. Other allowed milks include, but are not limited to: Hemp Milk, Almond Milk, Coconut Milk, Cashew Milk, and Tigernut Milk. 

Nuts and Seeds

All true nuts and seeds are allowed

 

 

Fermented Foods

Apple Cider vinegar, Distilled vinegar, Sauerkraut, Kimchi*, Kombucha*, Coconut Kefirs, Coconut Yogurt and Nut-based yogurts are allowed in the Certified Paleo Program.

Spices

All spices are allowed, provided they do not contain ethoxyquin which is not permitted in the Certified Paleo Program.  Salt, Sea salts, smoked salts, and salt blends are also allowed.

 

Mucilages

Mucilages such as psyllium husk, and chia seeds are permitted within the Certified Paleo Program.

 

 

Roots and Tubers

All roots and tubers are allowed, including potatoes.  To learn more about the Official Paleo Status of Potatoes, click here.

 

Flavors and Coloring

Allowed flavors include essential oils, oleoresins, extracts*, distillates*, and ingredients that contain flavoring derived from spices, fruits, vegetables and other plant material, meat or insect derivatives, insect oils, and stearic acid*. 

Sweeteners

Approved sweeteners include honey, stevia, maple syrup, coconut sugar, coconut sap, coconut nectar, date sugar, fruit juice, birch xylitol*, and monk fruit

 

Coffee and Tea

All coffees and teas are allowed in the Certified Paleo Program.

 

 

Stabilizers

Approved stabilizers include: Sunflower Lecithin, Egg-Derived Lecithin, Gum Arabic, Xanthan Gum*, Mastic Gum Lactic Acid, Citric Acid*,  Ascorbic Acid*

 

Miscellaneous

Grass-fed Gelatin, Collagen, Grass-fed Broths and Protein Isolates, Tapioca Maltodextrin, and Silicon Dioxide as an anti-caking agent are allowed in the Certified Paleo program.

*Source, Substrate, and Amount dependent