Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using any website, application, API, or service (“the Services”) operated by Organic Verification Systems LLC, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use the Services.

2. Nature of the Services

The Services provide automated regulatory compliance screening for animal food and feed product labels. The Services are a software tool and are expressly not:

• A legal opinion or a determination that any product complies with any law or regulation
• An official inspection, audit, or certification recognized by any regulatory authority
• A substitute for consultation with a qualified regulatory attorney or FDA-licensed consultant
• An official AAFCO, FDA, or USDA determination of any kind

3. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Organic Verification Systems LLC, its principals, employees, contractors, and agents shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or exemplary damages arising from or related to your use of the Services, including but not limited to:

• Regulatory enforcement actions, fines, penalties, or product recalls
• Product liability claims arising from any product whose label was assessed using the Services
• Losses resulting from reliance on any compliance determination produced by the Services
• Animal injury, illness, or death arising from any product whose label was assessed using the Services
• Business interruption or lost profits of any kind

The Services are provided “as is” and “as available.” Organic Verification Systems LLC makes no warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of any compliance determination produced by the Services.

4. Manufacturer and Distributor Responsibility

The user of the Services acknowledges and agrees that:

• The manufacturer, distributor, or other responsible party named on any animal food or feed product bears sole legal responsibility for ensuring that product complies with all applicable federal, state, and local law.
• A compliance flag, pass determination, or other output from the Services does not transfer any portion of that legal responsibility to Organic Verification Systems LLC.
• Regulatory requirements change. The Services are updated periodically but cannot guarantee real-time currency with all regulatory changes. Users are responsible for verifying that regulatory citations are current at the time of reliance.
• Species-specific regulatory requirements vary significantly. Users are responsible for correctly identifying the intended species and life stage for any product submitted to the Services.

5. No Attorney-Client or Agency Relationship

Nothing in these Terms or in the Services creates an attorney-client relationship, a regulatory agency relationship, or any other professional relationship between Organic Verification Systems LLC and the user. The Services are a software tool, not a professional service.

For legal advice regarding regulatory compliance, users should consult a licensed attorney with experience in FDA food and drug law or the relevant regulatory field.

6. Intellectual Property

The Services, including the underlying compliance framework, species-specific regulatory logic, federated ingredient authority database (FIAD), and all associated documentation, are the proprietary work product of Organic Verification Systems LLC and are protected by applicable copyright and trade secret law.

Regulatory text, CFR citations, AAFCO definitions, and FDA guidance documents referenced within the Services are public domain and remain the property of the issuing government or regulatory body. The selection, arrangement, annotation, and analytical framework applied to such materials are original work product of Organic Verification Systems LLC.

Users may not reproduce, reverse engineer, or distribute the compliance logic, scoring framework, or proprietary databases of the Services without express written permission.

7. Prohibition on Scraping and Automated Access

You may not, directly or indirectly:

• Use any robot, spider, crawler, scraper, or other automated means to access, index, or collect data from the Services;
• Use any data mining, extraction, or harvesting tool or technique on the Services;
• Use the content for training, fine-tuning, or developing any artificial intelligence, machine learning, or large language model system;
• Systematically download, store, or redistribute any portion of the document libraries or databases.

8. Data Handling

Label data and product information submitted to the Services is processed for the purpose of compliance assessment. Organic Verification Systems LLC does not sell user data to third parties. Aggregate, de-identified compliance data may be used to improve the Services.

Users should not submit information that is confidential, proprietary, or subject to trade secret protection unless they have independently determined that such submission is appropriate.

9. Modifications to Terms

Organic Verification Systems LLC reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time. Continued use of the Services following notice of modification constitutes acceptance of the modified Terms. Users are encouraged to review these Terms periodically.

10. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Michigan, without regard to conflict of law principles. Any dispute arising from these Terms or the Services shall be resolved in the courts of Marquette County, Michigan, or the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, as appropriate.

11. Contact

Questions regarding these Terms may be directed to:

Gary P. Shaffer, M.A.Ed.
Principal, Organic Verification Systems LLC
gshaffer@organicverificationsystems.com
verifyfeed.com · verify.organic · organicverificationsystems.com