The AVA was created to promote the interests and concerns of individuals and organizations involved in the preservation, propagation, and distribution of vegetarian ideas and products. The primary goal of the AVA is to provide a widely recognized certification program which will enable vegetarian-minded people to make accurate food choices, being certain they can be confident in their selection, and that of the manufacturer's claims. 

The AVA certification program requires the applicant to submit the package, or menu, complete with all ingredients of the product(s) to be certified. Recipes and other proprietary information are not to be submitted.