Organic regulations overhaul

There are certain topics in food legislation that defy sensible comprehension, and European organic legislation is a prime example.

To fully understand it, you need to trawl through around 40 individual legislative texts, including regulations and their amendments. That said, the sheer volume of legislation in this area demonstrates that organic production has expanded rapidly, and that the legislation has attempted to stay abreast of the agricultural advances in the area.

However, it is no wonder that the European Union (EU) has finally issued a proposal on organic production and labelling of organic products, adopted by the European Commission in December 2005. The purpose of the proposed regulation is to simplify the existing system and introduce some clarification in line with other regulatory movements over the past few years.

Some key points of the proposal include: addressing the use of logos; genetically modified organisms (GMOs); labelling of processed foods; and improved flexibility. Amongst the simplified structure, it is proposed that organic foods do not display the EU organic logo and should instead be compulsorily labelled 'EU-Organic' as an indicator of the European Commission standard of production.

The prohibited use of GMOs in organic feed or food is categorically spelt out in the proposal. While consumers may expect that gene technology and organic farming are mutually exclusive, GMOs have only been addressed in existing organic legislation over the gradual progression and development of current genetic modification legislation.

In addition, the definitions covering genetic modification are more comprehensive than those given in Regulations 1829/2003 and 1830/2003, but the definition of 'produced with a GMO' is still notably absent.

Another key change from the current regulation is that only foods containing 95% organic ingredients could be labelled organic. Keep tabs on this one, it is drafted to come into force in 2009.