http://www.interpack.com/

In February this year it was officially presented by the EU Commission: the new EU logo (Bio seal), which will be mandatory from 1 July 2010 for all pre-packed organic products which were produced in an EU member state and comply with the necessary standards.

The new logo is the result of a Europe-wide contest and was chosen from three draft designs in the shortlist by around 130,000 people on the Internet. 63% of all participants voted in favour of the "Euro Leaf" designed by Dusan Milenkovic from Germany. This will be used to label pre-packed organic foodstuffs in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) 834/2007 in the European Union starting in summer this year. This applies to foods produced within the EU in compliance with the EU provisions for organic farming. The logo may only be used for organic foods containing a minimum of 95% by weight ingredients of agricultural origin.

In the new Euro Leaf logo the EU stars are arranged in the shape of a leaf against a green background. This is primarily to send out two clear messages: nature and Europe.

Rights and Duties

However, the labels will not only feature the new EU logo but also state the origin of the product and the code of the organic control body as mandatory data in order to be able to identify both the product origin and producing unit. The code and/or name of the control body in charge of checking the last producer or processer must be indicated right under the logo. The place or production in turn shall be placed underneath the control body code.

A transition period for mandatory labelling will only be granted for packaging units and labels produced before 1 July 2010. All packaging and labels manufactured after that date shall feature the new EU logo. Stocks of products produced, packaged and labelled before 1 January 2009 in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 may continue to be brought on the market until stocks are exhausted (Art. 95, Part 9, 889/2008). Packaging material may continue to be used for products until 1 January 2012 where the product otherwhise complies with the requirement of Regulation (EC) 834/2007 and its implementation regulations (Art. 95, Part 10, 889/2008). Products imported into the EU from third countries may – in accordance with the rules of use (Art. 24, Part 1 b, 5th Sentence, 834/2007) – be voluntarily labelled with the logo from 1 July 2010.

Focus on Organic Foods

"I am pleased that we now have a new Community logo for organic foodstuffs," said Mariann Fischer Boel, the Commissioner for Agriculture. It is hoped organic food will now move even more centrestage for consumers. Fischer Boel went on to say: "The design is appealing and elegant and I already look forward to purchasing products bearing this logo from July."

Private, regional or national organic seals can also be used in future but they may only be printed on in addition to the new mandatory organic logo.

The ideas of developing a uniform logo for all organic products from the European Union is anything but new. As early as 1997 there was a whole family of logos, which, however, failed to assert themselves on EU markets.