Review of events

The second year of BEING ORGANIC in EU marked two well-attended sessions and a networking reception at BIOFACH 2024, the organic sector’s most important international fair.

Packaging & its impact on the organic sector

On 13  February, participants discussed packaging legislation and its effects on organic operators and options for organic sales. Sabine Von Wirén-Lehr, Director of Wirén-Lehr Consulting, provided a timeline of and valuable insights on changes within the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste legislation that will impact organic operators. Among the challenges they noted: the prohibition of most single use plastic packaging, targets for reusable containers, and defining the sale of bulk products. Following, Ulrike Schaal from Bundesverband Naturkost Naturwaren (BNN) elaborated on possible approaches for organic operators to cope with these legislative changes, such as offering unpackaged food and reusable packaging.

Building and strengthening our networks

On the same day, the project allowed us to bring together project stakeholders and organic practitioners at a well-attended networking event with delicious food and drinks. Project partners and organic practitioners  mingled with European representatives from the European Commission’s Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) and national policymakers. Of course there was also a moment to learn more. IFOAM Organics Europe’s Director Eduardo Cuoco and Aldo Cervi, Project Coordinator at Federbio, provided food for thought about “Being Organic in EU”, opportunities to engage with organic stakeholders and the possibilities for organic in the new promotion policies programme.

EU budget available for organic

On 14 February, there was a session dedicated to the large sum available in the EU budget for promoting organic. Speakers learned how and when to apply for the promotion programmes for agricultural products from Diego Canga Fano, Director of the Directorate on Outreach, Research and Geographical indications at the European Commission’s DG AGRI. Mr Canga Fano took a deep dive into the different types of programmes, co-financing, and the eligibility rules.

Two IFOAM Organics Europe members showed how they use the promotion policies to develop organic. Their insights offered practical information on how to increase consumers’ trust in the EU organic logo and promote the organic sector’s economic profitability.

Heidi Haavisto Meier, Specialist at Pro Luomu, provided the audience with insights and lessons learnt in Nudging Organic, a promotion policies project exploring practical ways to improve organic sales in supermarkets. Partners are associations in Finland (Pro Luomu), Sweden (Organic Sweden), Belgium (BioForum), and the Netherlands (Bionext). Heidi outlined how the EU promotion program led participants to share good promotional practices among different EU countries.

Marco Schlüter, Head of Strategy and International Affairs at Naturland shared insights into Naturland’s experience benefitting from the EU promotion programme, describing the promotional activities they implemented through BEING ORGANIC in EU. Marco stressed how having a dedicated budget for promoting organic products helped reach a wider audience.

The BEING ORGANIC in EU project is a promotional campaign proposed by FederBio in cooperation with Naturland and co-financed by the European Union under EU Regulation No. 1144/2014. Its goal is to promote the organic sector in the Italian and German markets by raising awareness of organic farming techniques and the European organic logo.

Funded by the project Being Organic in EU of the European Union, coordinated by Federbio and Naturland. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

On February 13-16, the organic sector converged at BIOFACH/VIVANESS 2024 in Nürnberg, Germany. IFOAM Organics Europe fuelled discussions at the Congress’ events with many sessions delving into policy, regulation, and research.

Day 1, 13 February 2024

The first IFOAM Organics Europe Business Day marked a milestone, providing a space for organic business leaders to exchange insights. Another standout session from IFOAM Organics Europe, ‘’Packaging legislation is coming: what impact for organic operators?” delved into the impending packaging legislation, where challenges and opportunities that this directive brings to organic operators were explored. Following the latter, the dynamic “Policy Day 2024: State of Play of Current and Future Organic Policies” session took place as a talk-show style exploration of the future of the organic food and agriculture sector in sight of the 2024 European elections, providing a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities awaiting the organic movement. Afterwards, the organic journey continued with a networking event hosted by IFOAM Organics Europe called “Being Organic in EU: Networking Reception,” which was a delightful occasion to taste organic food and drinks while fostering networking opportunities and knowledge exchange.

Day 2, 14 February 2024

The trade fair’s second day marked sessions on “EU budget for organic: how and when to apply for the promotion policy co-funding?” helping the sector to navigate the EU budget available to promote organic. Later, during the session “Reaching the EU 25% F2F organic target – barriers, drivers, policies, trends and scenarios,” the first results of the Horizon Europe Project OrganicTargets4EU were presented. Based on an analysis of the drivers and barriers to the development of organic farming, speakers examined whether and how the Farm to Fork goals can be achieved through planned policy interventions, trends, and possible scenarios for the future development of the sector. Subsequently, IFOAM Organics Europe also hosted the session “Concepts for the CAP 2027 – How can the organic systems approach benefit the agricultural funding system in the EU?” where concepts for the agricultural funding and the need to transform CAP into an effective tool to support sustainable agriculture were discussed by different experts from NGO´s and politics.

Day 3, 15 February 2024

Our programme continued with TP Organics’ Science Day: Organic research & innovation for sustainable food systems. IFOAM Organics Europe and many others took part to a workshop, helping TP Organics identify and prioritise knowledge gaps to be included in its new Strategic Research & Innovation Agenda, a key tool for advocating for the organic sector’s needs and priorities. In addition, equally insightful were the following sessions on “Protecting Organics in the Context of GMO Deregulation” and “Understanding the Geopolitical Context of the NGT debate in the EU”. The former provided a cutting-edge update on the EU policymaking process on the new legislative proposal on so-called “New Genomic Techniques” (NGTs) regarding the implications for the organic sector. As for the latter, it explained how different global regulatory contexts—in terms of consumer labelling, traceability, and biosafety standards—are posing real technical challenges to trade relations, shining light on these complexities and implications for organic trade markets. Other meaningful sessions were ‘’EU Organic Regulation – challenges and opportunities”, where a presentation from policy-makers and experts on the main challenges and opportunities of the new EU Organic Regulation was made; and the ‘’Management of residues in organic products under the EU organic regulation’’ session, through which a common understanding of the rules in light of the Position Paper of IFOAM Organics Europe published last summer was reached.

Day 4, 16 February 2024

On the last day of BIOFACH we did not slow down. In three enlightening sessions, such as ‘’Will the EU seed reform contribute to the Green Deal?” which touched on the topic of access to seeds for organic farmers, the role of organic breeders in maintaining and fostering agrobiodiversity, and how the revision of the existing framework on production and marketing of plant reproductive material will impact the organic sector. And, finally, the last session focused on “Climate neutrality – opportunity or threat?” through which it was made clear how the whole supply chain is crucial when it comes to climate action and that systemic solutions are needed to properly tackle environmental and social challenges.

IFOAM Organics Europe would like to extend heartfelt gratitude to the BIOFACH organisers, IFOAM Organics Europe staff, members, sponsors, and the institutions that keep committing to organic. Furthermore, sincere gratitude is also extended to all participants, collaborators, and supporters who, with their presence and active engagement, have made this event a success for the organic community. Together, we continue to pioneer agriculture, making Europe more organic!

At this year edition of the biggest trade fair for organic, BIOFACH, IFOAM Organics Europe organise two sessions updating interested participants on the EU organic regulation. Similar to previous years, there was a general sessionas well as a highly awaited and well-attended workshop on pestice residue management in organic products focusing on the perspective of the operators – with participation and contributions by the EU Commission.

EU Organic Regulation update

Vice-President of Ecocert Group and IFOAM Organics Europe Board Member, Michel Reynaud highlighted the work done on IFOAM Organics Europe’s side following the legislative process and advocating for a better understanding of the sector’s needs. Elena Panichi, Head of the Organics Unit at the Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) updated the audience about regulation-related achievements and upcoming legislative work. She also reminded participants that there is a new regulation detailing rules on the labelling of organic pet food, the final rejection of the proposal on organic salt production rules, and the regular updates of the lists of authorized products and substances in organics.

The work of the Commission on issuing clarification letters upon stakeholder requests and questions about implementation of certain elements of the regulation is ongoing, as well as the incorporation of these guides into the Frequently Asked Questions on Organic Rules – which document is reviewed and updated on a regular basis.

Ms. Panichi updated the audience on the status of several legal proposals – the regular updating of the lists of authorized inputs, a legal act on the use of the EU organic logo, production rules for organic insects and processing techniques allowed for the de-alcoholisation of wine. She also emphasised that Commission’s priorities in 2024 will be the essential task related to the introduction of new import rules – namely the reassessment of submitted technical dossiers and recognition of control bodies for the purpose of compliance. The operational work needed for the smooth transition of the import system from being based on compliance instead of equivalence is in full swing, and the Commission is fully dedicated to be ready for the start on 1 January 2025.

Pesticide residue management

We organised this year’s session on the management of pesticide residues to introduce a new approach and bring a practical aspect to the fair, involving the sector and Commission. Head of Department at BioAustria and IFOAM Organics Europe’s Board Member, Thomas Fertl presented nine real cases of residue findings in organic products showing us all circumstances relevant for a well-based decision.

After hearing IFOAM Organics Europe’s position on whether the operator is capable of coming to a conclusion of eliminating the suspicion of a non-compliance or not, which is a very specific element of the organic regulation, Henri Delanghe, Deputy Head  of the Organics Unit at the Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) presented the Commission’s perspective and essential aspects to consider to make a decision in line with provisions of the regulation.

Listing the Commission’s major horizontal considerations:

• A product origin (EU or third country);
• The status of the substance or product within the EU (if banned);
• The control body’s involvement is important in most cases, especially at the start ( identify the source and cause of the residue and check if precautionary measures had been put in place);
• Recurrence;
• The operator’s responsibility to have and maintain proper case recordings; and
• The control body’s responsibility to check these recordings during the annual (or additional) inspections.

For more information on the EU organic regulationand IFOAM Organics Europe’s work on this issue, please visit our website or contact [email protected]. Do note that we prioritise our members’ requests.

IFOAM Organics Europe members have early access to information on the EU Organic Regulation through our Interest and Expert Groups and our member member extranet. They also have one free access to the EU Organic Regulation guidelines.

For access to our member extranet and information about what you can gain from being a member, read our membership page and contact [email protected].