Rozp w spra roln eko 834 2007, marketing rolnictwo, akty

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20.7.2007
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
L 189/1
I
(Acts adopted under the EC Treaty/Euratom Treaty whose publication is obligatory)
REGULATIONS
Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007
of 28 June 2007
on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
fair competition and a proper functioning of the internal
market in organic products, and of maintaining and
justifying consumer confidence in products labelled as
organic. It should further aim at providing conditions under
which this sector can progress in line with production and
market developments.
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu-
nity, and in particular Article 37 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (
1
),
(4)
The Communication from the Commission to the Council
and the European Parliament on a European Action Plan for
Organic Food and Farming proposes to improve and
reinforce the Community's organic farming standards and
import and inspection requirements. In its conclusions of
18 October 2004, the Council called on the Commission to
review the Community legal framework in this field with a
view to ensure simplification and overall coherence and in
particular to establish principles encouraging harmonisa-
tion of standards and, where possible, to reduce the level of
detail.
Whereas:
(1)
Organic production is an overall system of farm manage-
ment and food production that combines best environ-
mental practices, a high level of biodiversity, the
preservation of natural resources, the application of high
animal welfare standards and a production method in line
with the preference of certain consumers for products
produced using natural substances and processes. The
organic production method thus plays a dual societal role,
where it on the one hand provides for a specific market
responding to a consumer demand for organic products,
and on the other hand delivers public goods contributing to
the protection of the environment and animal welfare, as
well as to rural development.
(5)
It is therefore appropriate to define more explicitly the
objectives, principles and rules applicable to organic
production, in order to contribute to transparency and
consumer confidence as well as to a harmonised perception
of the concept of organic production.
(2)
The share of the organic agricultural sector is on the
increase in most Member States. Growth in consumer
demand in recent years is particularly remarkable. Recent
reforms of the common agricultural policy, with its
emphasis on market-orientation and the supply of quality
products to meet consumer demands, are likely to further
stimulate the market in organic produce. Against this
background the legislation on organic production plays an
increasingly important role in the agricultural policy
framework and is closely related to developments in the
agricultural markets.
(6)
To that end, Council Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 of
24 June 1991 on organic production of agricultural
products and indications referring thereto on agricultural
products and foodstuffs (
2
) should be repealed and replaced
by a new regulation.
(7)
A general Community framework of organic production
rules should be established with regard to plant, livestock,
and aquaculture production, including rules for the
collection of wild plants and seaweeds, rules on conversion,
as well as rules on the production of processed food,
(3)
The Community legal framework governing the sector of
organic production should pursue the objective of ensuring
(
1
) Opinion delivered on 22 May 2007 (not yet published in the Official
Journal).
(
2
) OJ L 198, 22.7.1991, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by
Commission Regulation (EC) No 394/2007 (OJ L 98, 13.4.2007,
p. 3).
L 189/2
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
20.7.2007
including wine, and feed and organic yeast. The Commis-
sion should authorise the use of products and substances
and decide on methods to be used in organic farming and
in the processing of organic food.
(16)
As organic stock farming is a land-related activity animals
should have, whenever possible, access to open air or
grazing areas.
(8)
The development of organic production should be
facilitated further, in particular by fostering the use of
new techniques and substances better suited to organic
production.
(17)
Organic stock farming should respect high animal welfare
standards and meet animals' species-specific behavioural
needs while animal-health management should be based on
disease prevention. In this respect, particular attention
should be paid to housing conditions, husbandry practices
and stocking densities. Moreover, the choice of breeds
should take account of their capacity to adapt to local
conditions. The implementing rules for livestock produc-
tion and aquaculture production should at least ensure
compliance with the provisions of the European Conven-
tion for the Protection of Animals kept for Farming
purposes and the subsequent recommendations by its
standing committee (T-AP).
(9)
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and products
produced from or by GMOs are incompatible with the
concept of organic production and consumers' perception
of organic products. They should therefore not be used in
organic farming or in the processing of organic products.
(10)
The aim is to have the lowest possible presence of GMOs in
organic products. The existing labelling thresholds repre-
sent ceilings which are exclusively linked to the adventitious
and technically unavoidable presence of GMOs.
(18)
The organic livestock production system should aim at
completing the production cycles of the different livestock
species with organically reared animals. It should therefore
encourage the increase of the gene pool of organic animals,
improve self reliance and thus ensure the development of
the sector.
(11)
Organic farming should primarily rely on renewable
resources within locally organised agricultural systems. In
order to minimise the use of non-renewable resources,
wastes and by-products of plant and animal origin should
be recycled to return nutrients to the land.
(19)
Organic processed products should be produced by the use
of processing methods which guarantee that the organic
integrity and vital qualities of the product are maintained
through all stages of the production chain.
(12)
Organic plant production should contribute to maintaining
and enhancing soil fertility as well as to preventing soil
erosion. Plants should preferably be fed through the soil
eco-system and not through soluble fertilisers added to the
soil.
(20)
Processed food should be labelled as organic only where all
or almost all the ingredients of agricultural origin are
organic. However, special labelling provisions should be laid
down for processed foods which include agricultural
ingredients that cannot be obtained organically, as it is
the case for products of hunting and fishing. Moreover, for
the purpose of consumer information, transparency in the
market and to stimulate the use of organic ingredients, it
should also be made possible to refer to organic production
in the ingredients list under certain conditions.
(13)
The essential elements of the organic plant production
management system are soil fertility management, choice of
species and varieties, multiannual crop rotation, recycling
organic materials and cultivation techniques. Additional
fertilisers, soil conditioners and plant protection products
should only be used if they are compatible with the
objectives and principles of organic production.
(14)
Livestock production is fundamental to the organisation of
agricultural production on organic holdings in so far as it
provides the necessary organic matter and nutrients for
cultivated land and accordingly contributes towards soil
improvement and the development of sustainable agricul-
ture.
(21)
It is appropriate to provide for flexibility as regards the
application of production rules, so as to make it possible to
adapt organic standards and requirements to local climatic
or geographic conditions, specific husbandry practices and
stages of development. This should allow for the applica-
tion of exceptional rules, but only within the limits of
specific conditions laid down in Community legislation.
(15)
In order to avoid environmental pollution, in particular of
natural resources such as the soil and water, organic
production of livestock should in principle provide for a
close relationship between such production and the land,
suitable multiannual rotation systems and the feeding of
livestock with organic-farming crop products produced on
the holding itself or on neighbouring organic holdings.
(22)
It is important to maintain consumer confidence in organic
products. Exceptions from the requirements applicable to
organic production should therefore be strictly limited to
cases where the application of exceptional rules is deemed
to be justified.
20.7.2007
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
L 189/3
(23)
For the sake of consumer protection and fair competition,
the terms used to indicate organic products should be
protected from being used on non-organic products
throughout the Community and independently of the
language used. The protection should also apply to the
usual derivatives or diminutives of those terms, whether
they are used alone or combined.
(31)
In order to ensure that organic products are produced in
accordance with the requirements laid down under the
Community legal framework on organic production,
activities performed by operators at all stages of production,
preparation and distribution of organic products should be
submitted to a control system set up and managed in
conformity with the rules laid down in Regulation (EC)
No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 29 April 2004 on official controls performed to
ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food
law, animal health and animal welfare rules (
1
).
(24)
In order to create clarity for consumers throughout the
Community market, the EU-logo should be made obliga-
tory for all organic pre-packaged food produced within the
Community. It should otherwise be possible to use the EU-
logo on a voluntary basis in the case of non pre-packaged
organic products produced within the Community or any
organic products imported from third countries.
(32)
It might in some cases appear disproportionate to apply
notification and control requirements to certain types of
retail operators, such as those who sell products directly to
the final consumer or user. It is therefore appropriate to
allow Member States to exempt such operators from these
requirements. However, in order to avoid fraud it is
necessary to exclude from the exemption those retail
operators who produce, prepare or store products other
than in connection with the point of sale, or who import
organic products or who have contracted out the aforesaid
activities to a third party.
(25)
It is however considered appropriate to limit the use of the
EU-logo to products which contain only, or almost only,
organic ingredients in order not to mislead consumers as to
the organic nature of the entire product. It should therefore
not be allowed to use it in the labelling of in-conversion
products or processed foodstuffs of which less than 95 % of
its ingredients of agricultural origin are organic.
(26)
The EU-logo should under no circumstances prevent the
simultaneous use of national or private logos.
(33)
Organic products imported into the European Community
should be allowed to be placed on the Community market
as organic, where they have been produced in accordance
with production rules and subject to control arrangements
that are in compliance with or equivalent to those laid
down in Community legislation. In addition, the products
imported under an equivalent system should be covered by
a certificate issued by the competent authority, or
recognised control authority or body of the third country
concerned.
(27)
Moreover, for the sake of avoiding deceptive practices and
any possible confusion amongst consumers on the
Community or non-Community origin of the product,
whenever the EU-logo is used, consumers should be
informed about the place were the agricultural raw
materials of which the product is composed have been
farmed.
(28)
The Community rules should promote a harmonised
concept of organic production. The competent authorities,
control authorities and control bodies should refrain from
any conduct that might create obstacles to the free
movement of compliant products that have been certified
by an authority or body located in another Member State.
They should in particular not impose any additional
controls or financial burdens.
(34)
The assessment of equivalency with regard to imported
products should take into account the international
standards laid down in
Codex Alimentarius
.
(35)
It is considered appropriate to maintain the list of third
countries recognised by the Commission as having
production standards and control arrangement which are
equivalent to those provided for in Community legislation.
For third countries which are not included in that list, the
Commission should set up a list of control authorities and
control bodies recognised as being competent for the task
of ensuring controls and certification in third countries
concerned.
(29)
For the sake of consistency with Community legislation in
other fields, in the case of plant and livestock production,
Member States should be allowed to apply within their own
territories, national production rules which are stricter than
the Community organic production rules, provided that
these national rules also apply to non-organic production
and are otherwise in conformity with Community law.
(36)
Relevant statistical information should be collected in order
to obtain reliable data needed for the implementation and
follow-up of this Regulation and as a tool for producers,
market operators and policy makers. The statistical
information needed should be defined within the context
of the Community Statistical Programme.
(30)
The use of GMOs in organic production is prohibited. For
the sake of clarity and coherence, it should not be possible
to label a product as organic where it has to be labelled as
containing GMOs, consisting of GMOs or produced from
GMOs.
(
1
) OJ L 165, 30.4.2004, p. 1. Corrected by OJ L 191, 28.5.2004, p. 1.
L 189/4
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
20.7.2007
(37)
This Regulation should apply from a date which gives the
Commission sufficient time to adopt the measures
necessary for its implementation.
(c) feed;
(d) vegetative propagating material and seeds for cultivation.
(38)
The measures necessary for the implementation of this
Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council
Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the
procedures for the exercise of implementing powers
conferred on the Commission (
1
).
The products of hunting and fishing of wild animals shall not be
considered as organic production.
This Regulation shall also apply to yeasts used as food or feed.
(39)
The dynamic evolution of the organic sector, certain highly
sensitive issues linked to the organic production method
and the need to ensure a smooth functioning of the internal
market and control system makes it appropriate to provide
for a future review of the Community rules on organic
farming, taking into account the experience gained from
the application of these rules.
3. This Regulation shall apply to any operator involved in
activities, at any stage of production, preparation and distribu-
tion, relating to the products set out in paragraph 2.
However, mass catering operations shall not be subject to this
Regulation. Member States may apply national rules or, in the
absence thereof, private standards, on labelling and control of
products originating from mass catering operations, in so far as
the said rules comply with Community Law.
(40)
Pending the adoption of detailed Community production
rules for certain animal species and aquatic plants and
micro-algae, Member States should have the possibility to
provide for the application of national standards or, in the
absence thereof, private standards accepted or recognised
by the Member States,
4. This Regulation shall apply without prejudice to other
community provisions or national provisions, in conformity
with Community law concerning products specified in this
Article, such as provisions governing the production, prepar-
ation, marketing, labelling and control, including legislation on
foodstuffs and animal nutrition.
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
TITLE I
AIM, SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS
Article 2
Article 1
Aim and scope
Definitions
1. This Regulation provides the basis for the sustainable
development of organic production while ensuring the effective
functioning of the internal market, guaranteeing fair competi-
tion, ensuring consumer confidence and protecting consumer
interests.
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) ‘organic production’ means the use of the production
method compliant with the rules established in this
Regulation, at all stages of production, preparation and
distribution;
It establishes common objectives and principles to underpin the
rules set out under this Regulation concerning:
(a) all stages of production, preparation and distribution of
organic products and their control;
(b) ‘stages of production, preparation and distribution’ means
any stage from and including the primary production of an
organic product up to and including its storage, processing,
transport, sale or supply to the final consumer, and where
relevant labelling, advertising, import, export and subcon-
tracting activities;
(b) the use of indications referring to organic production in
labelling and advertising.
2. This Regulation shall apply to the following products
originating from agriculture, including aquaculture, where such
products are placed on the market or are intended to be placed
on the market:
(c) ‘organic’ means coming from or related to organic
production;
(a) live or unprocessed agricultural products;
(d) ‘operator’ means the natural or legal persons responsible for
ensuring that the requirements of this Regulation are met
within the organic business under their control;
(b) processed agricultural products for use as food;
(
1
) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. Decision as amended by Decision 2006/
512/EC (OJ L 200, 22.7.2006, p. 11).
(e) ‘plant production’ means production of agricultural crop
products including harvesting of wild plant products for
commercial purposes;
20.7.2007
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
L 189/5
(f)
‘livestock production’ means the production of domestic or
domesticated terrestrial animals (including insects);
(o) ‘control authority’ means a public administrative organisa-
tion of a Member State to which the competent authority
has conferred, in whole or in part, its competence for the
inspection and certification in the field of organic
production in accordance with the provisions set out under
this Regulation; it shall also include, where appropriate, the
corresponding authority of a third country or the
corresponding authority operating in a third country;
(g) the definition of ‘aquaculture’ is that given in Council
Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 of 27 July 2006 on the
European Fisheries Fund (
1
);
(h) ‘conversion’ means the transition from non organic to
organic farming within a given period of time, during
which the provisions concerning the organic production
have been applied;
(p) ‘control body’ means an independent private third party
carrying out inspection and certification in the field of
organic production in accordance with the provisions set
out under this Regulation; it shall also include, where
appropriate, the corresponding body of a third country or
the corresponding body operating in a third country;
(i)
‘preparation’ means the operations of preserving and/or
processing of organic products, including slaughter and
cutting for livestock products, and also packaging, labelling
and/or alterations made to the labelling concerning the
organic production method;
(q) ‘mark of conformity’ means the assertion of conformity to a
particular set of standards or other normative documents in
the form of a mark;
(j) the definitions of ‘food’, ‘feed’ and ‘placing on the market’
are those given in Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January
2002 laying down the general principles and requirements
of food law, establishing the European Food Safety
Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food
safety (
2
);
(r) the definition of ‘ingredients’ is that given in Article 6(4) of
Directive 2000/13/EC;
(s) the definition of ‘plant protection products’ is that given in
Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991 concerning
the placing of plant protection products on the market (
4
);
(k) ‘labelling’ means any terms, words, particulars, trade marks,
brand name, pictorial matter or symbol relating to and
placed on any packaging, document, notice, label, board,
ring or collar accompanying or referring to a product;
(t) the definition of ‘Genetically modified organism (GMO)’ is
that given in Directive 2001/18/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 12 March 2001 on the
deliberate release into the environment of genetically
modified organisms and repealing Council Directive
90/220/EEC (
5
) and which is not obtained through the
techniques of genetic modifications listed in Annex I.B of
that Directive;
(l) the definition of ‘pre-packaged foodstuff’ is that given in
Article 1(3)(b) of Directive 2000/13/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 20 March 2000 on the
approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to
the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs (
3
);
(m) ‘advertising’ means any representation to the public, by any
means other than a label, that is intended or is likely to
influence and shape attitude, beliefs and behaviours in
order to promote directly or indirectly the sale of organic
products;
(u) ‘produced from GMOs’ means derived in whole or in part
from GMOs but not containing or consisting of GMOs;
(v) ‘produced by GMOs’ means derived by using a GMO as the
last living organism in the production process, but not
containing or consisting of GMOs nor produced from
GMOs;
(n) ‘competent authority’ means the central authority of a
Member State competent for the organisation of official
controls in the field of organic production in accordance
with the provisions set out under this Regulation, or any
other authority on which that competence has been
conferred to; it shall also include, where appropriate, the
corresponding authority of a third country;
(w) the definition of ‘feed additives’ is that given in Regulation
(EC) No 1831/2003 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 22 September 2003 on additives for use in
animal nutrition (
6
);
(
1
) OJ L 223, 15.8.2006, p. 1.
(
2
) OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission
Regulation (EC) No 575/2006 (OJ L 100, 8.4.2006, p. 3).
(
3
) OJ L 109, 6.5.2000, p. 29. Directive as last amended by Commission
Directive 2006/142/EC (OJ L 368, 23.12.2006, p. 110).
(
4
) OJ L 230, 19.8.1991, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Commission
Directive 2007/31/EC (OJ L 140, 1.6.2007, p. 44).
(
5
) OJ L 106, 17.4.2001, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation
(EC) No 1830/2003 (OJ L 268, 18.10.2003, p. 24).
(
6
) OJ L 268, 18.10.2003, p. 29. Regulation as amended by
Commission Regulation (EC) No 378/2005 (OJ L 59, 5.3.2005, p. 8).
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