Farming News - Commission accepts auditors’ recommendations on organic food

Commission accepts auditors’ recommendations on organic food

The European Commission will tighten up controls covering the marketing of organic food in the bloc in line with recommendations made by the European Court of Auditors.

 

The EU watchdog released its opinion on Tuesday, in which it gave new advice on organic accreditation, to ensure that all produce labelled as organic within the bloc has actually been produced to the same high environmental and social standards.   

 

Although organic food has lost some of its market share and the sector has contracted slightly over the past few years in the UK, in Europe the market remains healthy and enjoys the support of many governments; overall, the organic market has rapidly developed and experienced annual growth rates of more than 10 percent in the past two decades. The European market for organic food amounts to around €20 billion annually, or 1.5 per cent of the entire food market.

 

In its ‘performance audit,’ the ECA focused on ensuring that products labelled as organic have been produced to organic principles. Last year in the UK an investigation into foods labelled as ‘locally sourced’ and ‘fresh’ in catering and retail outlets revealed that a great many had been misleadingly labelled.

 

In the first evaluation of its kind since 2001, well before the current organic boom in Europe, the ECA discovered that a number of competent authorities in the member states did not provide adequate assurance on organic certification and that in certain states traceability was also an issue.


Auditors’ recommendations

 

The court advised member states set up a system of checks, which control bodies can carry out with individual operators (producers, processors and importers) to ensure compliance, which they said could extend to imported produce.  

 

Auditors also recommended that state authorities increase their supervisory role over control bodies and boost inter-state communications to improve transparency in the food chain. They also suggested increasing monitoring of production in third countries which are deemed to have equivalent organic standards.

 

The commission acknowledged the shortcomings identified by the Court of Auditors and said it will continue to audit the control systems governing organic production from this year onwards through the food and veterinary office. The commission said the ECA’s findings during its audit of the organic supply chain could be replicable within other food sectors if found to be successful when applied to organic.

 

In just a few days the two year transition period, which has ushered in new labelling laws in the organic sector, will come to an end. From 1st July, all packaged organic products will be required to carry the new EU organic logo. As well as featuring the ‘Euro-leaf’ logo, the package must also display code numbers detailing the member state of origin and organic certification body.

 

Use of the logo will remain optional for loose, non-packaged organic produce and imported goods.