Organic production is an overall system of farm management and food production that combines best environmental practices, the preservation of natural resources and the application of high animal welfare standards and high production standards, according to Recital 1 of the New Organic Regulation (EU) No 2018/848. In 2021, a new organic regulation will enter into force. At the same time, a new official control regulation begins. The law checks whether imported products meet European rules and standards and regulates controls and possible action against fraudsters.
What are the changes introduced?
Along with changes in the range of products eligible for organic production, reformations in the processing industry, limiting the number of certification bodies and standardising labelling, the new rules impose strict import rules. In the absence of an agreement guaranteeing the equivalence of the non-EU country’s organic specification with the EU organic regulation, an organic product exported to the EU will be controlled according to the EU regulation. In this case, the rules will therefore be the same for a producer inside or outside the EU.
More for Importers:
For an imported product to be sold as organic, it must conform to equivalent standards as EU produced goods. To ensure this, there will be procedures that all importers have to follow if they wish to market a product as organic. These procedures depend on the country of origin of the goods.
For products originated in countries such as Argentina, Australia, Chile, Costa Rica, Canada, India, Israel, Japan, Tunisia, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United States of America, inspection and certification of most organic products is carried out by the national authorities of the country of origin. This is because arrangements for importing organic products are in place with these countries as their standards and control measures have been assessed as equivalent to those established in the EU. They are often referred to as ‘equivalent’ countries.
In all other countries, inspection and certification is the responsibility of ‘control bodies or authorities’. These are independent bodies appointed by the Commission to ensure that organic producers in their area of responsibility follow standards and control measures equivalent to the EU ones.
If you wish to import a product from one of these countries and market it as organic within the EU, you must contact the appropriate national control body.
There may be additional controls or requirements on products imported from some non-EU countries. Currently, this includes products from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Moldova, the Russian Federation, China and India.
Certification:
All organic products imported into the EU must have the appropriate electronic certificate of inspection (e-COI). These are administered through the Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES).
- Equivalent countries: certificates are issued by the control bodies designated by the countries’ national authorities.
- All other countries: the certificates are issued by the control bodies designated by the EU.
If you do not have an electronic inspection certificate, your products will not be released from their port of arrival in the EU.
We understand that when it comes to organic products, expectations are high regarding the quality and the care taken from soil to table. For this reason, we at Biohabit are dedicated to continuously growing and maintaining our supply chain, by sourcing premium organic products for our buyers from across the world.
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