ORGANIC

WHAT ABOUT ORGANIC HOPS IMPORTS?

Does Organicfrom the US meet the same requirements as Organicfrom the European Union? Are all Organicthe same?

Here's an example of questions you may be asking yourself, or at least some of you are asking us, so we thought it might be useful to do a little update on this 😉

This is indeed a good question, especially since 30% of the Organicproducts consumed in France come from abroad! So it's not just hops from the US or New Zealand, it's also bananas, avocados, coffee, tea and other nuts...to name but a few.

Concerning the specifications Organic, there are 3 distinct cases:

  • The hops are produced in the Community area - that is, in the European Union - and the producers are then all subject to the same European organic farming specifications. You know, the one that allows you to put the famous "eurofoil" on the labels 😉
  • Hops come from abroad with national Organicregulations comparable to those of the EU, in which case the specifications are considered equivalent and the products Organicfrom these countries are considered as Organicin the EU(subject to following the appropriate import procedure). In order to be marketed as such, organic products imported into the European Union must indeed comply with the production rules and be subject to the control provisions laid down by the European regulations. The European Commission has drawn up a list of third countries (outside Europe) and inspection bodies that apply production rules and inspection provisions equivalent to those laid down in the European regulations Organic. Imported products must also be covered by a certificate issued by an approved inspection body in the Member State where the importer is located,
  • Hops come from abroad without national Organicregulations comparable to those in the EU, in which case the hops would have to be certified in those countries and then checked on arrival in Europe.

So maybe two things to remember for us:

  • The specifications are not exactly the same between the EU and non-EU countries: they are equivalences that are validated (or not) by the European Commission;
  • To import products Organicinto the EU, there is a very specific procedure to follow. If this procedure is not followed, the products are then considered as conventional and CANNOT become Organic again. We agree that they can be Organicin their DNA, but they will not have their papers Organic...
  • For the time being, at HOPSTORE, you can find hops from the EU AND from abroad, from countries whose regulations Organicare considered equivalent to the EU's own. However, it is possible that one day we will look elsewhere...!

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