On Tuesday 4 June, the European Federation of Organic Agriculture (IFOAM Europe) announced that it had reached an agreement with various bodies in France on the use of the term ‘Eco-score’ on product labels.
On 25 January 2023, IFOAM Europe announced that it had brought an action before the Paris court to oppose the use of the ‘Eco-score’ environmental labelling system by ADEME (Agence de la transition écologique), YUKA, Eco2 Initiative and Open Food Facts. IFOAM Europe and its French members complain that this indicator is misleading for consumers, since it associates the prefix ‘Eco’ with products not certified organic. Furthermore, this indicator would be contrary to Article 30 of Regulation 2018/848 on the production and labelling of organic products.
The various parties have reached an agreement under which ADEME will withdraw the ‘Eco-score’ word mark and YUKA and ECO2 Initiative will change the name at European level before 1 January 2025.
The agreement reaffirms the importance for players in the agri-food sector of transparency in the information passed on to consumers, as well as the need for them to work together in the ongoing environmental transition. (Original version in French by Paul Charles - intern)