Originally published February 15 2006
EU steps up its labeling system for organic foods
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
From now on, member states of the European Union must all bear EU organic labels on all organic food products, replacing previous labels that were identified with individual states.
The aim is to make it easier for consumers to identify organic products, with a 'common concept' across all member states.
Under the new regulation it will be compulsory for them to also carry either the EU logo, which has existed for a number of years, or to wording 'EU organic'.
If they opt for the wording, this may appear in other European languages aside from English.
Commission spokesperson Johan Reyniers told FoodNavigator.com that labelling is the main area in which the new regulations differ from the old.
But other key aspects govern organic content and GMOs: at least 95 percent of the final product must be organic for it to be labeled as such.
Although products containing GMOs may not be labeled as organic, there is an exception for those with up to 0.9 percent GMO content from accidental contamination.
According to the IFOAM EU Group, the Europe-wide voice of the organic movement, this closes a legal loophole which allowed GMO containing products to be labelled as organic as long as the labelling also admitted to the GMOs.
Moreover for farmers, some flexibility in organic methods is permitted to allow for regional climate and conditions.
Such imports must comply with EU standards or come with equivalent guarantees from their country of origin.
Reyniers said that there have been a lot of modifications to the current organic regulations between 1990 and 2005, and by bringing all of these together into one document the Commission is seeking to present the rules as simply as possible.
Agriculture and rural development commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel said: "It will become easier not for consumers to recognize organic products and understand their environmental and animal welfare benefits...
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