Brussels, 26/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 26 June, the EU Court of Auditors updated the list of weaknesses in the control system for organic products, which could erode consumer confidence in those products. The special report by the Court of Auditors highlights the fact that the relevant authorities in member states have experienced difficulties when ensuring the traceability of organic products within the territory for which they have authority, and that they do not sufficiently fulfil their supervisory role over control bodies.
The control system for organic products as set out in the EU regulations aims to guarantee the production processes but not the organic character of the products themselves, the Court of Auditors explains. This is because there is no scientific way to determine whether a product is organic or not. The Court considers in its report that, in order to provide sufficient assurance that the system is operating effectively and to ensure that consumer confidence is not undermined, it would be appropriate to remedy the weaknesses highlighted by the Court's audit.
The Court set out examples of instances when the relevant authorities have not sufficiently fulfilled their supervisory role over control bodies. As a result, certain control bodies fail to satisfy a number of EU requirements and fail to take the opportunity to implement certain good practices. The Court also considers that the exchange of information within member states and from member states to the Commission and other member states is not yet adequate to ensure that the system is operating correctly.
Competent authorities in member states encounter difficulties in ensuring the traceability of the organic products within the territory for which they have authority. Traceability is even more difficult to achieve for products crossing borders, inspectors say.
Furthermore, the Court of Auditors states that the Commission does not have sufficient information to satisfy itself that the control system for organic production in third countries recognised as equivalent continues to fulfil the regulatory requirements as long as they keep this status. The Court also notes that: - there is a significant backlog in assessing applications for equivalence from third countries; - and that weaknesses exist in the system used for granting import authorisations. The Court welcomes the simplification inherent to the Commission's initiative to gradually phase out the import authorisation system.
The control system for organic products, as set out in the EU Regulations, aims to guarantee that the production processes conform to organic principles. For organic products originating within the EU, member states must set up a system of checks. Control bodies, which carry out these checks at the level of individual operators (such as producers, processors and importers) are central to this system. Organic products from outside the EU may be recognised as organic, if the production rules and control system applied to them are considered equivalent to the EU's.
The Commission's responses demonstrate that it largely acknowledges the Court's recommendations and that it plans to follow them up, especially with regard to specific audits on control systems for organic products under the Food and Veterinary Office as of 2012. (LC/transl.jl)