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Production and labeling of organic products, starting reg. EU 2018/848. THE ABC’S

February 2, 2022

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On 1.1.22 the implementation of reg. EU 2018/848 on the production and labeling of organic products, repealing former reg. EC 834/07. One year late, due to Covid-19. ABC to follow.

‘Organic production is a comprehensive system of farm management and food production based on the interaction of best practices in environmental and climate action, a high level of biodiversity, the preservation of natural resources, and the application of strict animal welfare criteria and stringent production standards suited to the preferences of a growing number of consumers for products made with natural substances and processes‘ (reg. EU 2018/848, recital 1).

Table of Contents

Reg. EU 2018/848. Values

Reg. EU 2018/848 is updated to achieve, in a holistic view, a sustainable food system that aspires to reduce externalinputs and link supply and demand through short supply chain.

The function of organic farming is not only to fulfill the growing demand for food ‘according to nature,’ but also to provide goods that contribute to environmental protection, animal welfare and rural development (2,3).

The link between organic production and soil health is reaffirmed (4) while at the same time introducing some cultivation practices that are not closely related to it. Such as production of sprouted seeds or heads of chicory, pot production of ornamental plants and herbs to sell in pots to consumers. In a logic of environmental sustainability.

Item

The rules under consideration define the principles of organic production and the rules related to:

– organic production,

– organic certification,

– Labeling and advertising of organic products,

– Specific and additional controls to those established by Reg. (EU) 2017/625 (5,6).

Collective catering remains excluded from the EU rule, which, however, leaves it to the member states to set specific standards, with the only limitation being that the use of the organic logo referring to products that collectivities advertise is not allowed. Reg. EU 2018/848, Article 2.3).

Scope

The scope of the regulation extends to a range of non-agricultural products, although closely related to agriculture:

– Yeasts used as food or feed,

– mate, sweet corn, vine leaves, hearts of palm, hop shoots and other similar edible parts of vegetables and products made from them,

– Sea salt and other salts for food and feed,

– silkworm cocoons suitable for reeling, gums and natural resins,

– beeswax, essential oils, natural corks, non-agglomerated and binder-free,

– Cotton and wool not carded or combed, raw hides and skins untreated,

– Traditional plant-based herbal preparations (reg. EU 2018/848, Annex I).

In addition to the products of agriculture listed in Annex I to the TFEU-including aquaculture and beekeeping products and products derived therefrom-if they are obtained, prepared, labeled, distributed, placed on the market, imported into or exported from the Union, or are intended to be:

(a) live* or unprocessed agricultural products, including seeds and other plant reproductive material,

(b) processed agricultural products intended for use as food,

(c) feed. As of 1.1.24, 70 percent of the feed fed to organic animals must be farm produced (or at least sourced from the same region), up from the current 60 percent

Goals

The main objectives of organic productions are:

– Help protect the environment and climate,

– To conserve soil fertility in the long term,

– Contribute to a high level of biodiversity,

– Contributing effectively to a non-toxic environment,

– Contribute to strict animal welfare criteria and meet the specific behavioral needs of animals according to species,

– Promote short supply chains and local production in the various areas of the Union.

Also:

– Encourage the maintenance of rare and native breeds that are endangered,

– Contribute to the development of the supply of plant genetic material appropriate to the specific needs and objectives of organic farming,

– Contribute to a high level of biodiversity, particularly by using plant genetic material of various types, such as biological heterogeneous material and biological varieties suitable for organic production,

– Promote the development of organic plant breeding activities in order to contribute to favorable economic prospects for the organic sector (EU reg. 2018/848, Article 4)

Principles to follow

The principles express the criteria to be followed to achieve the goals:

(a) Respect natural systems and cycles and maintain and improve the condition of soils, water and air, the health of plants and animals, and the balance among them,

(b) preserve elements of the natural landscape,

(d) produce a wide variety of food and other agricultural and aquaculture products of high quality that meet consumer demand for products made by processes that do not harm the environment, human health, plant health, or animal health and welfare,

(e) ensure theintegrity of the organicsupply chain at all stages of food and feed production, processing and distribution,

Additional criteria

The list of principles extends to design criteria with a view to system resilience. We must therefore also:

(f) appropriately design and manage biological processes based on ecological systems and employ natural resources internal to the management system, with methods that:
– use living organisms and mechanical production methods,
– practice plant cultivation in the soil and land-related animal production, or aquaculture in accordance with the principle of sustainable exploitation of aquatic resources,
– exclude the use of products derived and obtained from GMOs, outside of veterinary drugs only,
– are based on risk assessment and, where appropriate, make use of precautionary and preventive measures,

(g) limit the use of external inputs. Where external inputs are required, or where the appropriate management practices and methods referred to in subparagraph ‘f’ do not exist, external inputs are limited to:
– inputs from organic production. For plant breeding material, priority is given to varieties selected for their ability to meet the specific needs and objectives of organic farming,
– Natural substances or substances derived from natural substances,
– Mineral fertilizers with low solubility,

(h) adapt the production process, where necessary and within the framework of this Regulation, to take into account health conditions, regional differences in ecological balance, climatic and local conditions, various stages of development, and particular animal husbandry practices,

(i) exclude animal cloning, artificially induced polyploid animal breeding and ionizing radiation,

(j) maintain a high level of animal welfare while respecting species-specific needs (EU Reg. 2018/848, Articles 5,6,7).

Labeling

The use of terms as ‘bio’, ‘eco’ and others listed in Annex IV – in labeling and advertising, including the ‘trademarks or company names or other practices that may suggest that a product or its ingredients comply with this Regulation‘ – is reserved for products that actually meet the rules under consideration (EU reg. 2018/848, Article 30). In particular:

(a) sales name and ingredient list of processed food may refer to organic when:

– the products comply with the relevant production standards (EU Reg. 2018/848, All. II, Part 4; Art. 16.3),
– At least 95 percent of the agricultural ingredients in the product by weight are organic,
– the flavorings meet the requirements for the claim ‘natural flavor of …’(EC Reg. 1334/08, Article 16(2,3,4)) and ‘all flavor components and adjuvants for flavor components in the flavor concerned are organic‘. Therefore, undefined ‘naturalflavorings’ are no longer allowed, nor are ‘natural flavorings of … with other natural flavors‘,

(b) only in the list of ingredients, provided that:

– less than 95 percent of the agricultural ingredients in the product by weight are organic,
– processed food complies with the production standards (Annex II, Part IV, point 1.5, point 2.1, subparagraphs ‘a’ and ‘b’, point 2.2.1) and the standards in Article 16.3.

The indication of the location where the agricultural raw materials of which the product is composed were grown may be omitted for ‘small amounts of ingredients‘, now up to 5 percent (instead of 2 percent, as in EC Reg. 834/07) of the total quantity by weight of agricultural raw materials (EU Reg. 2018/848, Article 32.2).

Certification system

Any operator who produces, prepares, distributes or stores organic or in-conversion products, imports such products from a third country or exports them to third countries or otherwise places such products on the market is required to notify the relevant activities to the competent authorities.

Operators who sell pre-packaged organic products directly to the consumer or end user remain exempt, provided they do not import or produce them, prepare them, or store them except in connection with the point of sale (also excluding the case of contracting out such activities to third parties. EU Reg. 2018/848, Article 34).

Certificate of compliance

The certificate of conformity takes central significance as a certificate of inspection, according to reg. EU 2017/625. It reports essential information about the company and from 1.1.23 will be issued electronically through the TRACES system. It thus detects in the essential moments of:

– issuance, by inspection bodies, to anyone who notifies their activity,
– constraint on operators to place organic products on the market only if they have such a certificate,
– Verification in the supply chain of the presence of the certificate.

Member States may exempt from the certificate requirement small-scale operators who sell unpackaged (bulk) products other than feed directly to the final consumer but do not handle, produce, prepare or store them other than in connection with the point of sale. Provided that:
(a) sales do not exceed 5,000 kg per year,
(b) annual sales turnover of unpackaged organic products does not exceed €20,000,
(c) the operator’s potential cost of certification exceeds 2 percent of its total turnover on unpackaged organic products (EU Reg. 2018/848, Article 35).

Group certification

Group certification is a form of encouraging agroecology players to organize together. Small farmers (who may still carry out first and second processing activities) may form a group when their activities are in close geographical proximity and their farms have:
– no more than 5 ha of available land (0.5 ha in the case of greenhouses, 15 ha in the case of permanent pasture), or
– no more than €25,000 in turnover, that is, the standard volume of organic production does not exceed €15,000/year, and individual certification costs could exceed 2 percent of these figures.

The group may then establish a common marketing system for its products and a system of internal controls-which includes a documented set of control activities and procedures under which an identified person or body is responsible for verifying each member’s compliance with the regulation-to obtain group certification. And thus simplify bureaucratic burdens, inspection body audits and related costs, while being able to benefit from the grants and benefits associated with organic certification (EU reg. 2018/848, Article 36).

Interim conclusions

Regulation (EU) no. 2018/848 designs an agribusiness system where the agricultural and processing, distribution and communication stages are oriented toward a supply chain approach governed by a sustainable operating model.

The concrete implementation of the legislation, however, depends largely on the implementing rules – 29 acts, including executive regulations, delegated regulations and corrigenda – which have yet to partly unravel. With the italic aggravation of Coldiretti (8.9).

Donato Ferrucci, Dario Dongo

Notes

(1) D. Dongo. Organic, reg. EU 2018/848. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 06/22/2018 https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/progresso/biologico-reg-ue-2018-848

(2) Marta Strinati. Bioreport 2020, updated organic system scenario. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 04.01.2022. https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/mercati/bioreport-2020-scenario-aggiornato-del-sistema-biologico

(3) Dario Dongo. Organic, no animals in cages. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 10/18/2018 https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/progresso/biologico-nessun-animale-in-gabbia

(4) Sean L. Tuck, Camilla Winqvist, Flávia Mota, Johan Ahnström, Lindsay A. Turnbull, Janne Bengtsson (2013). Land-use intensity and the effects of organic farming on biodiversity: a hierarchical meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Ecology Volume 51, Issue 3 p. 746-755. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12219

(5) Donato Ferrucci, Dario Dongo. Organic controls in Italy, the ABCs and data. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). MAR 07, 2019 https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/progresso/controlli-bio-in-italia-l-abc-e-i-dati

(6) Dario Dongo, Giulia Torre. Official public controls, EU Regulation 2017/625 kicks off. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 18.12.2019 https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/sicurezza/controlli-pubblici-ufficiali-al-via-il-regolamento-ue-2017-625

(7) The animals specified in the regulation are cattle, horses, sheep, goats and pigs, poultry (laying hens, chickens, capons, Peking ducks, Muscovy ducks, mallards, guinea fowl, turkeys and geese for meat), bees. Now also rabbits and deer, hitherto not included (reg. EU 2018/848, Part II. Animal Production Standards)

(8) Dario Dongo. Italian organic, Coldiretti’s tailor-made bill on Senate vote. #CleanSpades. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 18.5.21,
https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/idee/biologico-italiano-il-disegno-di-legge-su-misura-di-coldiretti-in-voto-al-senato-vanghepulite

(9) Dario Dongo. Checks on imports of organic products, MiPAAF corrects shot. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 5/24/21, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/mercati/controlli-su-importazioni-di-prodotti-bio-il-mipaaf-corregge-il-tiro

Donato Ferrucci

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Agronomist, master in food law. He deals with certifications and quality systems in the agri-food chain. He collaborates with institutions and universities and is a member of the editorial board of rivistadiagraria.org.