Why a new regulation?
Since 2009, when the current European regulation on organic farming (RCE n°834/2007) came into force, organic farming has had to adapt to a sector that is changing every day, in line with the realities of the sector. According to the European Commission, this new regulation (RUE n°2018/848) will guarantee "fair competition for farmers, while preventing fraud and preserving consumer confidence".
Ecocert and its teams remain mobilized to inform you and support you in the application of this future regulation.
📢Report of the one year application date
On account of the health crisis, the European Commission has announced a one-year postponement of the application of the new EU Regulation 2018/848, initially scheduled for January 1, 2021 in the EU, so January 1, 2022, and no later than December 31, 2023 outside the EU.
In the European Union, the current European regulations will be repealed in favour of the new European Organic Regulation on 1 January 2022. This is a basis, and will be supplemented by secondary acts, which will detail and complete the implementation of the regulation, some of which have already been published by the European Commission.
Outside the European Union, operators will have a transition period from January 1 2022 to December 31, 2024 to adapt their activity to the new regulation. By 1 January 2025 at the latest, all our customers currently EOS (Ecocert Organic Standard) certified will thus have to be certified according to RUE 2018/848 to be able to export their organic products to the EU as their EOS certificate will no longer be valid on that date.
What will change? We give you the main information
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 exactly the same for a producer inside or outside the EU.
New products will be able to be certified organic, including salt, essential oils not intended for human consumption, natural gums and resins, cotton, wool and raw hides, beeswax, but also silkworm cocoons.
For crop production: Details on the origin of the seeds and seedlings used have been provided. In addition, farms will be obliged to grow legumes, for their role on soil fertility. It should be noted that off-ground crops, including hydroponics, are still prohibited.
For animal production: The most notable changes concern poultry and pig rearing conditions, with greater consideration for animal welfare in the layout of buildings and outdoor spaces. There are also restrictions on the feeding and purchase of non-organic pullets.
Food processing: The major change concerns the manufacture and use of flavourings. Only natural flavourings whose source is 95% unique will be allowed (e.g. "natural vanilla flavouring").
Greater flexibility on the origin of products is granted: products with the indication "EU Agriculture" will be allowed to contain 5% non-EU ingredients, instead of 2% as today.
If a company wishes to have a product category certified, only one certification body is required.
The certification of producer groups will now be accessible to all countries, and will be accompanied by reinforced control: for example, the size of each farm and the number of members of the groups will be limited.
Further changes are likely to be made to the new regulation.
For more information, we invite you to visit the European Commission's website