EU: Draft Amendments to Organic Products Regulation
The European Commission has published its proposal to amend the EU Regulation on organic production and labeling of organic products.
Among other changes, the proposal would:
- Allow the use of the products and substances available on the market for cleaning and disinfection for use in processing and storage.
- Reinforce the distinction between organic products that are fully compliant with the EU rules and products imported from third countries that are recognized as equivalent.
- Allow processed products to the use of the EU organic production logo if imported organic ingredients comprise 5% or less of the agricultural ingredients of the product, and above this threshold only if those ingredients meet certain additional production and control requirements.
- Extend recognition of countries with equivalent organic production and control systems until December 31, 2036.
The proposal will now undergo the ordinary legislative procedure.