Organic products: Lists of high risk countries and products
- Organic production
Summary
The European Commission proposes to amend the criteria for determining which organic products should be placed on its forthcoming list of high-risk products that will require more frequent controls. The Commission proposes that this list will be based on suspicions of non-compliance, in addition to cases of non-compliance that are already established.
The Commission has notified the proposal to the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (WTO TBT) Committee (G/TBT/N/EU/1149).
EU to clarify criteria for placing organic products on a high-risk list
Draft Commission Delegated Regulation amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1698 as regards certain criteria for the establishment of the list of high-risk third countries and high-risk products
Update
The European Commission proposes to amend the criteria for determining which organic products should be placed on its forthcoming list of high-risk products that will require more frequent controls. The Commission proposes that this list will be based on suspicions of non-compliance, in addition to cases of non-compliance that are already established.
The Commission has notified the proposal to the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (WTO TBT) Committee (G/TBT/N/EU/1149).
Impacted Products
All products
What is changing?
The European Union (EU) will establish a list of organic products where there is a high risk of non-compliance with EU organic rules, and the countries in which they are produced (Regulation 2021/1698, Art. 8). Products identified as “high-risk” will be subject to more frequent identity and physical checks by control authorities/bodies. The frequency of checks is risk-based, and so will depend on how high the risk of non-compliance is assessed to be.
Currently, products are identified as high-risk where “major, critical or repetitive” non-compliances have been established.
Under this draft Regulation, the European Commission now proposes to allow the identification of high-risk products to be based not only on established non-compliance, but also where non-compliance is suspected.
Why?
In many cases, where there is a suspicion of non-compliance of organic products, it is not possible for the control authority carrying out an investigation to establish (prove) this, due to a lack of information on the potential source or cause of contamination.
This proposed change to the criteria for high-risk listing would allow control authorities to increase controls in cases where there is a suspicion of non-compliance.
Timeline
The Regulation is expected to be published and apply in the fourth quarter of 2025. The European Commission is also expected to adopt a Regulation establishing the list of high-risk products in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Recommended Actions
Where a country is a member of the WTO, comments on this proposal can be submitted via the National TBT notification authority of the country concerned to the EU TBT Enquiry Point until 26 September 2025.
Background
Control authorities undertake investigations in response to EU Member State notifications in the Organic Farming Information System (OFIS), a network for information exchange between the European Commission, Member States, and control authorities.
While there is currently no list of high-risk products set out in legislation, the European Commission provides recommendations annually to organic control authorities and control bodies on products and origins regarding the percentage of consignments that should be checked. These recommendations are made in discussion with the Group of Experts on Organic Production, based on information gathered through OFIS.
Resources
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1698 with procedural requirements for the recognition of organic control authorities and control bodies
Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council on organic production and labelling of organic products
Sources
Draft Commission Delegated Regulation as regards certain criteria for the establishment of the list of high-risk third countries and high-risk products
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EU to clarify criteria for placing organic products on a high-risk list
Draft Commission Delegated Regulation as regards certain criteria for the establishment of the list of high-risk third countries and high-risk products
What is changing and why?
The European Union (EU) is establishing a list of organic products where there is a high risk of non-compliance with EU organic rules, and the countries in which they are produced. These products will be subject to more frequent controls (identity and physical checks) by control authorities/bodies.
The criteria for high-risk listing are currently based on established (proven) cases of non-compliance. However, in many cases there is a high level of suspicion of non-compliance, but it is difficult for control bodies to prove. In this draft Regulation the European Commission proposes to also allow products where there is suspected non-compliance to be placed on the high-risk products list.
Actions
The EU has notified this proposal to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Where a country is a member of the WTO, comments on the proposal can be submitted via the National TBT notification authority of the country concerned to the EU TBT Enquiry Point until 26 September 2025.
Timeline
The Regulation is expected to be published and apply in the fourth quarter of 2025. The European Commission is also expected to adopt a Regulation establishing the list of high-risk products in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Disclaimer: Under no circumstances shall COLEAD be liable for any loss, damage, liability or expense incurred or suffered that is claimed to have resulted from the use of information available on this website or any link to external sites. The use of the website is at the user’s sole risk and responsibility. This information platform was created and maintained with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents do not, however, reflect the views of the European Union.