Yeah, well, it seems like a no-brainer but we figured it might not hurt to go over the basics a little 😉 So here we go!
A product is considered as Organic only if it is an agricultural product or foodstuff fromorganic farming and therefore meets the requirements of the European legislation [PDF - 208 KB], in particular :
- no use of synthetic chemicals (pesticides, fertilizers, weed killers...)
- no use of GMOs
- respect for animal welfare (transport, breeding conditions, slaughter, etc.)
- for processed products, at least 95% of the ingredients must be organically produced.
In detail, the products that may be concerned by the certification Organicare :
- unprocessed agricultural products (e.g. cereals, vegetables, fruit, cotton, milk, eggs, animals)
- processed agricultural products for human consumption (e.g. bread, cheese, ready meals)
- animal feed (e.g. soya cake)
- seeds and vegetative propagating material.
The following products cannot be considered as Organic:
- The products of hunting and fishing of wild species (wild boar, sardines, etc.) because it is not possible to control their feeding and farming conditions.
- Water and salt as they are not agricultural ingredients.
- Textiles, cosmetics and other processed products not intended for human or animal consumption are also not covered by the organic farming regulations and cannot be certified as organic under these regulations.
However, for this last category of products, if one or more of their agricultural components are organically produced and certified, they can be promoted by means of a statement on the label (for example: "t-shirt made from organically produced cotton"). Furthermore, such products may, if they comply with a set of specifications, be subject to certification attesting to their compliance with a private or associative reference system
How are the products Organiccontrolled?
All actors in the sector, from producers to retailers, must notify their activity to theFrench Agency for the Development and Promotion of Organic Agriculture (Agence Organic). They are inspected by approved third-party organisations such as Ecocert, Certipaq or Qualité-France.
In addition, the DGCCRF carries out permanent checks on products marketed on the territory, whether they are produced in France or imported.
What are the labels Organic?
In addition to the controls carried out by the actors of the sector, to allow the consumer to verify the traceability of products Organic, 2 official labels exist:
- The AB logo: This is the French label created by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. It certifies that a product contains at least 95% certified agricultural ingredients Organic. The French AB logo is optional.
- The Eurofeuille logo: this is the European label that identifies products that comply with the specifications of organic farming. This Community logo is compulsory for organic products. It must be accompanied by an indication of the origin of the raw materials and the number of the certification body. This number is composed of the international code of the country of production of the product + Organic+ order number, for example for a product manufactured in France: FR-Organic-09. The list of approved certification bodies in France is available on theAgency's website Organic.
For HOPSTORE, the certification body is FR-Organic-01 (Ecocert)
SOURCES :
https://www.economie.gouv.fr/particuliers/comprendre-labels-bios#
