Produits de la mer - n°181 - Avril 2018 - 67

Actu ❘ AU QUOTIDIEN ❘ LA RÉGLEMENTATION

New developments
in organic production
are coming soon

The developments brought about by this new
regulatory project started in March 2014, have
given rise to much debate. And the agreement
approved by the Council's Special Agriculture
Committee and the European Parliament's
Agriculture Committee last November did not win
unanimous support. But the organic product market, which now weighs around 27 billion euros
has grown by 125% in ten years. According to Phil
Hogan, Commissioner in charge of Agriculture,
"everyone agreed that the current rules - dating
back 20 years - were not appropriate and could
further impede the development of the sector
rather than encourage it." A simpler and more
harmonized approach for producers and consumers seems to be needed.
Thanks to this reform - which is about agriculture, aquaculture and new products such as salt
or beeswax - the same rules will apply to all producers in the sector and to all organic products
sold within the EU. Whether of community origin or imported.
This puts an end to the current system of customizable exceptions although some flexibility remains. "Duly justified exemptions, such as
the temporary replacement of an organic ingredient with a non-organic one in the event of
limited stocks, remain authorized," notes the
Commission. Exceptions will be limited in time,
regularly re-assessed and, if necessary, extended
to all stakeholders.
On the commercial side, it is necessary to
ensure fair competition with producers from nonEU countries exporting to the EU. Currently, "producers from the same country may be subject
to different standards if there is no equivalence
scheme between the Union and the country in
question, as the certification bodies set their own
standards," says the law. The principle of equiva-

lence will be replaced by a principle of compliance
with a single set of rules.
Consumers will thus be assured that any food
product with the EU organic logo will meet the same
quality standards and these rules will also apply to
processed products, whether for human consumption or animal feeds. The label will be given if the
product contains at least 95% of organic ingredients. Besides, the origin of agriculture or aquaculture raw materials which compose them - "EU",
"non-EU" or "EU/non-EU", with the addition of the
name of the country or replaced by it plus the identification of the control body - must be indicated.
Another measure to increase consumer confidence is the strengthening of precautionary measures to reduce the risk of accidental contamination by pesticides. Their implementation will,
however, be the responsibility of the member
states. A highly debated issue, even though the

L.F.
L.F.

Member states of the EU have agreed
on re-examining the regulations
for organic production. When the law
is finally passed, the new rules
will come into effect in 2021.

Commission failed to impose a contamination
threshold. The issue of the necessity of controls
for consumer confidence which are nevertheless
restrictive for producers and competent authorities, is also controversial. If no irregularity is found
after three consecutive years, it will be possible
to limit it to one control every two years. For the
National Federation of Organic Agriculture, it is a
step backwards. Besides, the latter wants a national label complementary to the Euro-leaf. "Legally,
it seems that nothing prevents the ministry from
reactivating a best bidder specifications under AB
(organic agriculture) label," its president Stephanie
Pageot declares. Where for example, hydroponic
productions could not be organic. Even though
aquaponics and hydroponics can get the USDA
Organic label in the United States. ■
Anne-Caroline RENARD

Chronology
1985: French organic production specifications and first AB logo.
1991: first European organic regulations (EEC Regulation No. 2092/91, completed in
1999 for animal production).
1999: first European organic logo.
2009: new European organic regulations (EC Regulation n ° 834/2007). The text also
describes basic requirements regarding production of marine seaweed and organic
aquaculture.
2014: modification of the terms and conditions for implementing the rules for organic production in aquaculture (EU Implementing Regulation No. 1358/2014).
2014: first revision of the European organic production regulations.
2017: approval of an agreement by the member states.
2017: new French organic production specifications (decree of 27th March 2017).
The chapter on aquaculture production, which was no longer applicable since the
extension of European regulation, is deleted.
2018: approval of the new European regulations by the Parliament and the Council
to come into effect on the 1st of January 2021?
Sources : Agence Bio, Inao, European Commission, European Parliament

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