Brussels, 23/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - End March, the European Commission is expected to adopt a proposal aimed at reviewing the rules on organic production in order to adjust to developments in a sector in full expansion. This sector being prey to those who wish to make easy money, the Commission hopes to step up anti-fraud controls. The Commission also has two other objectives to: - put an end to current derogations and irregularities, mainly for processed products; - and improve the import regime, where the risk of fraud is permanent.
Between 2000 and 2011, the land surface devoted to organic farming in the EU increased from 4.3 to 9.5 million hectares (6.7% growth annually on average). Since 2000, the land used for organic production has increased by 500,000 hectares annually on average. In 2011, surface areas used for the cultivation of organic crops represented 5.4% of total farm land in the EU, with some 220,000 organic farms. Despite this rapid conversion of farms into organic farms, however, EU production cannot meet the rising demand for organic produce on the internal market.
As already announced by Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos, the draft review of the organic production regulation aims primarily at doing away with most of the derogations in force. The text prepared by the European services also provides for simplification and clarification of the rules for production and labelling, as well as improvement of the control system and the import regime in order to counter fraud. It does not completely undermine the provisions, as many member states such as Spain, Germany and Austria feared.
Small farmers are discouraged, however, by changing consumer patterns and the concerns and expectations of citizens that have not been sufficiently taken into account, as well as over-complicated labelling standards, the inadequacies of the control system and the trading regime, and also over-complex legislation entailing a considerable administrative burden. In order to address these deficiencies, according to the draft submitted by European Commission services, the Commission plans to adopt a proposal for review of the 2007 regulation on organic farming and on organic product labelling. Review is essential as neither the domestic supply nor the legislative framework have kept pace with market expansion.
Removal of exceptions and derogations. The draft regulation that will be submitted to commissioners should have the following results, according to the Commission's impact analysis: - positive market outlook, thanks to renewed consumer confidence that will itself be promoted by the taking into account of society's current concerns (management of the environment at the level of processors and trade, animal welfare); - removal of exceptions to the Community rules that should promote the development of organic inputs, seeds in particular; - clearer and more simple production criteria; - fair competition that will be improved notably by stronger harmonisation, simpler and clearer rules and the move from equivalence to compliance for the recognition of control bodies in third countries; - a risk-based approach expected to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of controls and contribute, together with a more reliable import regime, to fraud prevention; - positive consequences on the environment, thanks to repeal of exceptions; - and better animal welfare thanks, again, to the removal of derogations (including that relating to the tethering of animals).
Criteria and control. The draft regulation specifies that exceptions granted for now will be removed, except where temporary measures are necessary in order to allow organic production to continue or recommence in the case of catastrophic circumstances. The agricultural ingredients used in the composition of organic processed products have to be exclusively organic. Organic operators other than farmers or operators producing seaweed or aquaculture animals are required to develop a system to measure their environmental performance. The regulation proposed includes the ban on using GMOs and products containing GMOs.
The control system is improved through the integration of all control-related provisions in a single legislative text under the Commission proposal for a regulation on official controls and other official activities in food and feed.
The use of pesticides that can have adverse effects on the environment, or give rise to the presence of residues in products, will be greatly restricted. Preference must be given to preventive techniques that do not require the use of plant protection products. Some of these products may be used if the techniques prove to be insufficient and only if they are authorised and employed in the conditions stipulated in the regulation.
Conversion. Hydroponic production would be banned in the context of the regulation on organic farming, as would intensive breeding. Animals should be fed with grass, fodder and feedingstuffs produced according to organic production rules and preferably at the same farm. For conversion to organic production, and recognised as such, the provisions of the regulation should, in the case of plants and plant products, have been applied to the plots of land concerned for at least two years before seeds are sown. For perennial forage and pastureland, this period will also be two years before use as organic animal feed. In the case of perennial crops other than forage, it will be three years at least before the first harvest can be considered organic.
Labelling. The labelling of farm produce and foodstuffs will be subject to the general provisions of the 2011 regulation on consumer information on foodstuffs. The use of the EU's organic logo will be compulsory for all pre-packed foodstuffs produced in the Union. Otherwise, it may be used on a voluntary basis for organic products from the EU that are not pre-packed or for any organic product imported from a third country. In order to avoid all confusion regarding the EU or non-EU origin of the product, when the EU logo is used, consumers should be informed about the place where the agricultural raw materials that make it up are produced.
Simplification and delegated acts. Another major objective of the draft text is simplification. The provisions concerning the scope, rules of production, labelling and controls will be clarified. Ineffective measures will be done away with. Member states' decision-making power to grant derogations will be limited. The labelling rules and the import regime will be simplified, the same being true for the requirements for small producers with, in particular, the introduction of a group certification. Thirty-seven of the 135 obligations to provide information currently imposed on operators in the sector and on the administrations will be abolished. Review of the 2007 regulation also opens up the possibility, under the European treaty, to delegate to the Commission the power to finalise certain provisions, for example in order to adjust rules applying to organic farming, animal origin, buildings - including minimum internal and external surface areas - and maximum number of animals per hectare, good practices, reproduction, feed, disease prevention and veterinary treatment.
List. In addition to the agricultural and fisheries products listed in Annex I of the European treaty, the draft new regulation on organic farming concerns some other products: yeast, beer, beverages made from plant extracts, fruit juices/nectars, chocolate and derived products, bread, pastries, sweets, biscuits and other bakery products, pasta and stuffed pasta, soups, sauces, ready-made dishes, ice cream, flavoured yogurts and yogurts containing fruit, added nuts or cacao, sea salt, natural resins and gums, mustard pastes, pollen, beeswax, essential oils, and spirits if the ethylic alcohol used is exclusively of agricultural origin. (LC/transl.jl)