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 - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 189/1

Organic production is an overall system of farm management and food production that combines best environmental 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.

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.

The Community legal framework governing the sector of organic production should pursue the objective of ensuring 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.

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 harmonisation of standards and, where possible, to reduce the level of detail.

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.

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.

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, including wine, and feed and organic yeast. The Commission 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.

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.

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.

The aim is to have the lowest possible presence of GMOs in organic products. The existing labelling thresholds represent ceilings which are exclusively linked to the adventitious and technically unavoidable presence of GMOs.

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.

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.

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.

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 agriculture.

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.

As organic stock farming is a land-related activity animals should have, whenever possible, access to open air or grazing areas.

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 production and aquaculture production should at least ensure compliance with the provisions of the European Convention for the Protection of Animals kept for Farming purposes and the subsequent recommendations by its standing committee (T-AP).

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.

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.

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.

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 application of exceptional rules, but only within the limits of specific conditions laid down in Community legislation.

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.

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.

In order to create clarity for consumers throughout the Community market, the EU-logo should be made obligatory 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.

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.

The EU-logo should under no circumstances prevent the simultaneous use of national or private logos.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 (3).

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.

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.

The assessment of equivalency with regard to imported products should take into account the international standards laid down in Codex Alimentarius.

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.

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.

This Regulation should apply from a date which gives the Commission sufficient time to adopt the measures necessary for its implementation.

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 (4).

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.

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,

all stages of production, preparation and distribution of organic products and their control;

the use of indications referring to organic production in labelling and advertising.

live or unprocessed agricultural products;

processed agricultural products for use as food;

feed;

vegetative propagating material and seeds for cultivation.

‘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;

‘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 subcontracting activities;

‘organic’ means coming from or related to organic production;

‘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;

‘plant production’ means production of agricultural crop products including harvesting of wild plant products for commercial purposes;

‘livestock production’ means the production of domestic or domesticated terrestrial animals (including insects);

the definition of ‘aquaculture’ is that given in Council Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 of 27 July 2006 on the European Fisheries Fund (5);

‘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;

‘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;

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 (6);

‘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;

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 (7);

‘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;

‘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;

‘control authority’ means a public administrative organisation 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;

‘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;

‘mark of conformity’ means the assertion of conformity to a particular set of standards or other normative documents in the form of a mark;

the definition of ‘ingredients’ is that given in Article 6(4) of Directive 2000/13/EC;

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 (8);

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 (9) and which is not obtained through the techniques of genetic modifications listed in Annex I.B of that Directive;

‘produced from GMOs’ means derived in whole or in part from GMOs but not containing or consisting of GMOs;

‘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;

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 (10);

‘equivalent’, in describing different systems or measures, means that they are capable of meeting the same objectives and principles by applying rules which ensure the same level of assurance of conformity;

‘processing aid’ means any substance not consumed as a food ingredient by itself, intentionally used in the processing of raw materials, foods or their ingredients, to fulfil a certain technological purpose during treatment or processing and which may result in the unintentional but technically unavoidable presence of residues of the substance or its derivatives in the final product, provided that these residues do not present any health risk and do not have any technological effect on the finished product;

the definition of ‘ionising radiation’ is that given in Council Directive 96/29/Euratom of 13 May 1996 laying down basic safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionising radiation (11) and as restricted by Article 1(2) of Directive 1999/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 February 1999 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning foods and food ingredients treated with ionising radiation (12).

‘mass catering operations’ means the preparation of organic products in restaurants, hospitals, canteens and other similar food business at the point of sale or delivery to the final consumer.

establish a sustainable management system for agriculture that:

aim at producing products of high quality;

aim at producing a wide variety of foods and other agricultural products that respond to consumers’ demand for goods produced by the use of processes that do not harm the environment, human health, plant health or animal health and welfare.

the appropriate design and management of biological processes based on ecological systems using natural resources which are internal to the system by methods that:

the restriction of the use of external inputs. Where external inputs are required or the appropriate management practices and methods referred to in paragraph (a) do not exist, these shall be limited to:

the strict limitation of the use of chemically synthesised inputs to exceptional cases these being:

the adaptation, where necessary, and within the framework of this Regulation, of the rules of organic production taking account of sanitary status, regional differences in climate and local conditions, stages of development and specific husbandry practices.

the maintenance and enhancement of soil life and natural soil fertility, soil stability and soil biodiversity preventing and combating soil compaction and soil erosion, and the nourishing of plants primarily through the soil ecosystem;

the minimisation of the use of non-renewable resources and off-farm inputs;

the recycling of wastes and by-products of plant and animal origin as input in plant and livestock production;

taking account of the local or regional ecological balance when taking production decisions;

the maintenance of animal health by encouraging the natural immunological defence of the animal, as well as the selection of appropriate breeds and husbandry practices;

the maintenance of plant health by preventative measures, such as the choice of appropriate species and varieties resistant to pests and diseases, appropriate crop rotations, mechanical and physical methods and the protection of natural enemies of pests;

the practice of site-adapted and land-related livestock production;

the observance of a high level of animal welfare respecting species-specific needs;

the production of products of organic livestock from animals that have been raised on organic holdings since birth or hatching and throughout their life;

the choice of breeds having regard to the capacity of animals to adapt to local conditions, their vitality and their resistance to disease or health problems;

the feeding of livestock with organic feed composed of agricultural ingredients from organic farming and of natural non-agricultural substances;

the application of animal husbandry practices, which enhance the immune system and strengthen the natural defence against diseases, in particular including regular exercise and access to open air areas and pastureland where appropriate;

the exclusion of rearing artificially induced polyploid animals;

the maintenance of the biodiversity of natural aquatic ecosystems, the continuing health of the aquatic environment and the quality of surrounding aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in aquaculture production;

the feeding of aquatic organisms with feed from sustainable exploitation of fisheries as defined in Article 3 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries Policy (13) or with organic feed composed of agricultural ingredients from organic farming and of natural non-agricultural substances.

the production of organic food from organic agricultural ingredients, except where an ingredient is not available on the market in organic form;

the restriction of the use of food additives, of non organic ingredients with mainly technological and sensory functions and of micronutrients and processing aids, so that they are used to a minimum extent and only in case of essential technological need or for particular nutritional purposes;

the exclusion of substances and processing methods that might be misleading regarding the true nature of the product;

the processing of food with care, preferably with the use of biological, mechanical and physical methods.

the production of organic feed from organic feed materials, except where a feed material is not available on the market in organic form;

the restriction of the use of feed additives and processing aids to a minimum extent and only in case of essential technological or zootechnical needs or for particular nutritional purposes;

the exclusion of substances and processing methods that might be misleading as to the true nature of the product;

the processing of feed with care, preferably with the use of biological, mechanical and physical methods.

organic plant production shall use tillage and cultivation practices that maintain or increase soil organic matter, enhance soil stability and soil biodiversity, and prevent soil compaction and soil erosion;

the fertility and biological activity of the soil shall be maintained and increased by multiannual crop rotation including legumes and other green manure crops, and by the application of livestock manure or organic material, both preferably composted, from organic production;

the use of biodynamic preparations is allowed;

in addition, fertilisers and soil conditioners may only be used if they have been authorised for use in organic production under Article 16;

mineral nitrogen fertilisers shall not be used;

all plant production techniques used shall prevent or minimise any contribution to the contamination of the environment;

the prevention of damage caused by pests, diseases and weeds shall rely primarily on the protection by natural enemies, the choice of species and varieties, crop rotation, cultivation techniques and thermal processes;

in the case of an established threat to a crop, plant protection products may only be used if they have been authorised for use in organic production under Article 16;

for the production of products other than seed and vegetative propagating material only organically produced seed and propagating material shall be used. To this end, the mother plant in the case of seeds and the parent plant in the case of vegetative propagating material shall have been produced in accordance with the rules laid down in this Regulation for at least one generation, or, in the case of perennial crops, two growing seasons;

products for cleaning and disinfection in plant production shall be used only if they have been authorised for use in organic production under Article 16.

those areas have not, for a period of at least three years before the collection, received treatment with products other than those authorised for use in organic production under Article 16;

the collection does not affect the stability of the natural habitat or the maintenance of the species in the collection area.

the growing areas are of high ecological quality as defined by Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy (15) and, pending its implementation, of a quality equivalent to designated waters under Directive 2006/113/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on the quality required of shellfish waters (16), and are not unsuitable from a health point of view. Pending more detailed rules to be introduced in implementing legislation, wild edible seaweeds shall not be collected in areas which would not meet the criteria for Class A or Class B areas as defined in Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific rules for the organisation of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption (17);

the collection does not affect the long term stability of the natural habitat or the maintenance of the species in the collection area.

sustainable practices shall be used in all stages of production, from collection of juvenile seaweed to harvesting;

to ensure that a wide gene-pool is maintained, the collection of juvenile seaweed in the wild should take place on a regular basis to supplement indoor culture stock;

fertilisers shall not be used except in indoor facilities and only if they have been authorised for use in organic production for this purpose under Article 16.

with regard to the origin of the animals:

with regard to husbandry practices and housing conditions:

with regard to breeding:

with regard to feed:

with regard to disease prevention and veterinary treatment:

with regard to cleaning and disinfection, products for cleaning and disinfection in livestock buildings and installations, shall be used only if they have been authorised for use in organic production under Article 16.

with regard to the origin of the aquaculture animals:

with regard to husbandry practices:

with regard to breeding:

with regard to feed for fish and crustaceans:

with regard to bivalve molluscs and other species which are not fed by man but feed on natural plankton:

with regard to disease prevention and veterinary treatment:

With regard to cleaning and disinfection, products for cleaning and disinfection in ponds, cages, buildings and installations, shall be used only if they have been authorised for use in organic production under Article 16.

as plant protection products;

as fertilisers and soil conditioners;

as non-organic feed materials from plant origin, feed material from animal and mineral origin and certain substances used in animal nutrition;

as feed additives and processing aids;

as products for cleaning and disinfection of ponds, cages, buildings and installations for animal production;

as products for cleaning and disinfection of buildings and installations used for plant production, including storage on an agricultural holding.

their use is necessary for sustained production and essential for its intended use;

all products and substances shall be of plant, animal, microbial or mineral origin except where products or substances from such sources are not available in sufficient quantities or qualities or if alternatives are not available;

in the case of products referred to in paragraph 1(a), the following shall apply:

in the case of products referred to in paragraph 1(b), their use is essential for obtaining or maintaining the fertility of the soil or to fulfil specific nutrition requirements of crops, or specific soil-conditioning purposes;

in the case of products referred to in paragraph 1(c) and (d), the following shall apply:

the conversion period shall start at the earliest when the operator has notified his activity to the competent authorities and subjected his holding to the control system in accordance with Article 28(1);

during the conversion period all rules established by this Regulation shall apply;

conversion periods specific to the type of crop or animal production shall be defined;

on a holding or unit partly under organic production and partly in conversion to organic production, the operator shall keep the organically produced and in-conversion products separate and the animals separate or readily separable and keep adequate records to show the separation;

in order to determine the conversion period referred to above, a period immediately preceding the date of the start of the conversion period, may be taken into account, in so far as certain conditions concur;

animals and animal products produced during the conversion period referred to in subparagraph (c) shall not be marketed with the indications referred to in Articles 23 and 24 used in the labelling and advertising of products.

the product shall be produced mainly from ingredients of agricultural origin; in order to determine whether a product is produced mainly from ingredients of agricultural origin added water and cooking salt shall not be taken into account;

only additives, processing aids, flavourings, water, salt, preparations of micro-organisms and enzymes, minerals, trace elements, vitamins, as well as amino acids and other micronutrients in foodstuffs for particular nutritional uses may be used, and only in so far as they have been authorised for use in organic production in accordance with Article 21;

non-organic agricultural ingredients may be used only if they have been authorised for use in organic production in accordance with Article 21 or have been provisionally authorised by a Member State;

an organic ingredient shall not be present together with the same ingredient in non-organic form or an ingredient in conversion;

food produced from in-conversion crops shall contain only one crop ingredient of agricultural origin.

alternatives authorised in accordance with this chapter are not available;

without having recourse to them, it would be impossible to produce or preserve the food or to fulfil given dietary requirements provided for on the basis of the Community legislation.

where they are necessary in order to ensure that organic production can be initiated or maintained on holdings confronted with climatic, geographical or structural constraints;

where it is necessary in order to ensure access to feed, seed and vegetative propagating material, live animals and other farm inputs, where such inputs are not available on the market in organic form;

where it is necessary in order to ensure access to ingredients of agricultural origin, where such ingredients are not available on the market in organic form;

where they are necessary in order to solve specific problems related to the management of organic livestock;

where they are necessary with regard to the use of specific products and substances in the processing referred to in Article 19(2)(b) in order to ensure production of well established food products in organic form;

where temporary measures are necessary in order to allow organic production to continue or recommence in the case of catastrophic circumstances;

where it is necessary to use food additives and other substances as set out in Article 19(2)(b) or feed additives and other substances as set out in Article 16(1)(d) and such substances are not available on the market other than produced by GMOs;

where the use of food additives and other substances as set out in Article 19(2)(b) or feed additives as set out in Article 16(1)(d) is required on the basis of Community law or national law.

in the sales description, provided that:

only in the list of ingredients, provided that the food complies with Article 19(1), 19(2)(a), 19(2)(b) and 19(2)(d);

in the list of ingredients and in the same visual field as the sales description, provided that:

the code number referred to in Article 27(10) of the control authority or control body to which the operator who has carried out the most recent production or preparation operation is subject, shall also appear in the labelling;

the Community logo referred to in Article 25(1) as regards pre-packaged food shall also appear on the packaging;

where the Community logo is used, an indication of the place where the agricultural raw materials of which the product is composed have been farmed, shall also appear in the same visual field as the logo and shall take one of the following forms, as appropriate:

organic feed;

in-conversion products of plant origin;

vegetative propagating material and seeds for cultivation.

confer its control competences to one or more other control authorities. Control authorities shall offer adequate guarantees of objectivity and impartiality, and have at their disposal the qualified staff and resources necessary to carry out their functions;

delegate control tasks to one or more control bodies. In that case, the Member States shall designate authorities responsible for the approval and supervision of such bodies.

there is an accurate description of the tasks that the control body may carry out and of the conditions under which it may carry them out;

there is proof that the control body:

the control body is accredited to the most recently notified version, by a publication in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union, of European Standard EN 45011 or ISO Guide 65 (General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems), and is approved by the competent authorities;

the control body communicates the results of the controls carried out to the competent authority on a regular basis and whenever the competent authority so requests. If the results of the controls indicate non-compliance or point to the likelihood of non-compliance, the control body shall immediately inform the competent authority;

there is an effective coordination between the delegating competent authority and the control body.

the standard control procedure to be followed, containing a detailed description of the control measures and precautions that the body undertakes to impose on operators subject to its control;

the measures that the control body intends to apply where irregularities and/or infringements are found.

the supervision and audit of other control bodies;

the competence to grant exceptions, as referred to in Article 22, unless this is provided for in the specific conditions laid down by the Commission in accordance with Article 22(3).

ensure that the controls carried out by the control body are objective and independent;

verify the effectiveness of its controls;

take cognisance of any irregularities or infringements found and corrective measures applied;

withdraw approval of that body where it fails to satisfy the requirements referred to in (a) and (b) or no longer fulfils the criteria indicated in paragraph 5, 6 or fails to satisfy the requirements laid down in paragraphs 11, 12 and 14.

notify his activity to the competent authorities of the Member State where the activity is carried out;

submit his undertaking to the control system referred to in Article 27.

the product complies with the provisions set out in Titles II, III and IV as well as with the implementing rules affecting its production adopted pursuant to this Regulation;

all operators, including the exporters, have been subject to control by a control authority or control body recognised in accordance with paragraph 2;

the operators concerned shall be able to provide at any time, to the importers or the national authorities, documentary evidence as referred to in Article 29, permitting the identification of the operator who carried out the last operation and the verification of compliance by that operator with points (a) and (b), issued by the control authority or control body referred to in point (b).

the product has been produced in accordance with production rules equivalent to those referred to in Titles III and IV;

the operators have been subject to control measures of equivalent effectiveness to those referred to in Title V and such control measures have been permanently and effectively applied;

the operators at all stages of production, preparation and distribution in the third country have submitted their activities to a control system recognised in accordance with paragraph 2 or to a control authority or control body recognised in accordance with paragraph 3;

the product is covered by a certificate of inspection issued by the competent authorities, control authorities or control bodies of the third country recognised in accordance with paragraph 2, or by a control authority or control body recognised in accordance with paragraph 3, which confirms that the product satisfies the conditions set out in this paragraph.

the names and addresses of the competent authorities and where appropriate their code numbers and their marks of conformity;

lists of control authorities and bodies and their code numbers and, where appropriate, their marks of conformity. The Commission shall publish regularly the list of control authorities and bodies.

detailed rules as regards the production rules laid down in Title III, in particular as regards the specific requirements and conditions to be respected by operators;

detailed rules as regards the labelling rules laid down in Title IV;

detailed rules as regards the control system established under Title V, in particular as regards minimum control requirements, supervision and audit, the specific criteria for delegation of tasks to private control bodies the criteria for approval and withdrawal of such bodies and the documentary evidence referred to in Article 29;

detailed rules as regards the rules on imports from third countries laid down in Title VI, in particular as regards the criteria and procedures to be followed with regard to the recognition under Article 32 and 33 of third countries and control bodies, including the publication of lists of recognised third countries and control bodies, and as regards the certificate referred to in Article 33(1) point (d) taking into account the advantages of electronic certification;

detailed rules as regards the free movement of organic products laid down in Article 34 and the transmission of information to the Commission in Article 35.

the scope of this Regulation, in particular as regards organic food prepared by mass caterers;

the prohibition on the use of GMOs, including the availability of products not produced by GMOs, the vendor declaration, the feasibility of specific tolerance thresholds and their impact on the organic sector;

the functioning of the internal market and controls system, assessing in particular that the established practices do not lead to unfair competition or barriers to the production and marketing of organic products.

биологичен.