Answer to written question on Conception of 'organic product' in agriculture and in the labelling of organic wine

Date published: May 7 2010

QUESTION by Lorenzo Fontana (EFD)

The 'organic product' concept does not merely identify a philosophy of life and/or consumption, but is the cornerstone around which, especially in the last few years, entire market sectors have been built up and have organised themselves. Among the values inherent in this concept are the investments made by numerous operators in the sector with a view to improving the quality of production and respecting the 'naturalness' criteria which are the corollary of the concept of 'organic product'.

As regards the wine sector, the Commission proposal for a regulation on organic wine will shortly be discussed. It will lay down, for future years, requirements for organic wine, thereby distinguishing it from conventional wine.

If good agronomic practices are followed (including choosing the most suitable varieties for a given area of production), organic wine will be able to be produced by substantially reducing the use of processes and additives (including sulphur dioxide) which are typical of traditional winemaking techniques.

In the light of the above:

1. Will the Commission state its position with regard to the very definition of 'organic product', saying what interpretation the EU wishes to give to 'organic products', defending that interpretation and promoting it in its choices and/or policies concerning organic products?

2. Can the Commission say, in particular, whether it believes it is right that organic products should be considered 'products which respect the organic criteria laid down by Community legislation' or whether, contrary to such a rule-based approach, it believes it is fairer to consider organic products as 'products which seek to reduce unnatural practices and/or procedures as much as possible by respecting the maximum organic parameters which can currently be achieved by modern organic production techniques and which Community legislation should, as a result, faithfully accommodate'?

Answer given by Mr Cioloş on behalf of the Commission

The questions of the Honourable Member are closely related to the elaboration of the new organic wine regulation and it is the task of the Commission to manage and to elaborate the EU wide standard for the definition of organic products including organic wine.

For seeking and developing the appropriate definitions, the Commission is supported by experts providing technical input and expertise on organic production. In addition, scientific studies may also contribute to the proper outline and fixation of such definitions. In case of organic wine, the definition of "organic wine" was delivered by an EU-wide multi-annual research project, the so-called ORWINE[1] project.

The Commission's proposal is based on its recommendations, namely "The code of good organic viticulture and wine-making".

On EU-level the standard for organic products is laid down in the organic farming legislation, Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007[2] on organic production and labelling of organic products.

With the planned adoption of the new implementing regulation for organic wine - an amendment of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 889/2008[3] - an existing legal gap will be closed and it will be possible to label "organic wine".

This follows the line taken in Action 10 of the European Action Plan 2004[4] suggesting the completion of the organic farming legislation also for organic wine. In reply to the second question of the Honourable Member it can be confirmed that any new specific organic standard has to respect and to follow the criteria as outlined in the objectives and principles in Articles 3 to 6 of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 as well as the general organic production and processing rules therein.

These criteria do not differentiate between "traditional" and "modern" production and processing techniques, but aim "the exclusion of substances and processing methods that might be misleading regarding the true nature of the (organic) product" as stated in Article 6(c) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007.

Once the new regulation will be adopted and enter into force, wine like any other processed agriculture product for human consumption has to fully comply with the EU organic farming legislation, if the product is labelled "organic".

The EU organic farming legislation establishes a general and harmonized standard for the organic production of live and unprocessed agriculture products, for food, feed and seeds, which is valid throughout the European Union.

However, stricter private rules may be set up for all organic products including wine, if the organic sector so wishes and provided the free movement of organic products is not jeopardized.

[1] www.orwine.com [1] OJ L189, 20.7.2007 [1] OJ L 250, 18.9.2008 [1] COM(2004)415 final

[1] www.orwine.com [2] OJ L189, 20.7.2007 [3] OJ L 250, 18.9.2008 [4] COM(2004)415 final