Organic Regulation – EuroCommerce recommendations

Introduction
EuroCommerce, the voice of retail and wholesale sector, welcomes the opportunity to provide suggestions for updating the Organic Regulation (EU) 2018/848. We support the EU’s ambition to promote sustainable food systems and maintain consumer trust in organic products. However, we believe the Regulation can be improved to better balance the need for organic integrity with the practical realities faced by retailers and wholesalers. Retail and wholesalers rely on consistent, high-quality supplies of organic products to meet consumer demand. Legislation should enable the continued growth of the organic market across the entire food supply chain. We strongly support a risk-based approach to controls and inspections. Given that retailers mainly sell pre-packed and labelled organic products, the likelihood of non-compliance with safety and conformity rules appears to be low.