Brussels, 23/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - European consumers have faith in organic products, a public consultation conducted by the European Commission in the first half of 2013 reveals. However, they want to see stricter EU rules adopted.
The consultation report, published on Thursday 19 September, notes that the main reasons that consumers buy organics products are concern for the environment (83%) and because they contain no GMOs or pesticide residue (81%). The vast majority (78%) also indicated that they were prepared to pay more for organic products.
The survey, which attracted close to 45,000 responses, showed a strong demand for rules that are harmonised across the EU. 74% of respondents called for tougher European rules on organic products and 86% want uniform organic rules right across the EU.
The results of the consultation will feed into the on-going review of the political and legal framework for organic agriculture in Europe. An overarching strategy will be presented at the start of 2014. This strategy is likely to seek to strengthen and harmonise the quality control systems for organic products in the EU and to increase transparency in the rules applied to imported products. The reform will also set a tolerance threshold for certain substances, such as vitamins, in organic farming and will address the issue of processed goods. Currently almost 2% of foodstuffs bought by European consumers are from organic farming and 200,000 farms (2% of the total number) farm organically. (LC/transl.fl)