Proper monitoring of organic products from the EU and third countries

20.3.2019

Question for written answer E-001431-19
to the Commission
Rule 130
Adam Szejnfeld (PPE)

There is no doubt that health is one of the values most cherished by Europeans. It is not surprising, therefore, that consumers are becoming more and more interested in organic food, which is generally considered healthier given that it has to be produced in a natural way.

Unfortunately, checks being carried out show that some companies, in an attempt to profit from the demand for organic products and the high prices that can be charged for them, are misleading consumers. It is common for packaging to suggest that a product is organic by fallaciously using labels such as ‘ecological’ (‘eco’), ‘biological’ (‘bio’), ‘organic’, but also by using labels that falsely imply that a given product meets the requirements for organic goods, for example ‘bioactive’. ‘healthy’, ‘health-promoting’, ‘natural’, ‘from natural sources’, etc. Another tactic is the use on packaging of graphic symbols designed to look deceptively similar to the EU organic logo — a green leaf made up of 12 stars. Doubts have also been raised about organic products imported from outside the EU, given that they — and in particular their supply chain — are much more difficult to check thoroughly.

How is the Commission planning to tackle these unfair practices, which undermine healthy competition and mislead European consumers about the origin and quality of food products which are supposed to meet specific organic food requirements?