Organic processors urged to ensure compliance
organic industry body to call on those storing ingredients for
processing to ensure their premises are inspected.
Annual retail sales of organic foodstuffs have soared tenfold to top €1.51bn in UK alone in the past decade leading more growers and food makers jump on the bandwagon to fulfil the demand fromconsumers. There are about 4,000 organic farmers and food processors in the UK working in a European market currently worth about €20.7bn.
The Organic Farmers & Growers (OF&G), a certification body, yesterday called on operators of food storage and warehouses tocheck whether they need to comply with new organic regulations that came into force in July.
New EU regulations require operators who store organic produce to register with an organic certification body. The rules require the certification body to carry out annual inspections of theoperator and its premises.
The law change is aimed at ensuring organic products are not contaminated or substituted along the way. Organic products command a premium price at the retail level.
The new rule covers all warehouses, distribution centres and any premises that store organic produce, either packed or loose. The products may be destined to be sold directly to the consumer or tobe used as ingredients in processed foods.
In the UK, government's food safety regulator is applying a derogation that allows the country to exempt operators who sell organic products directly to the final consumer, provided they do not "produce, prepare, store other than in connection with the point of sale, or import such products from a third country".
The OF&G's processor certification manager, Gabrielle Lanceley, said the organisation believes the regulation adds even greater assurance for all involved in the organic food chain and for consumers.
"Although it goes further than we believe to be entirely practical, there's no doubt it is a positive step forward," she said.
The EU's Organic Food Regulation (2092/91) was amended to bring the storage and warehousing of organic produce under the organic inspection system. This amendment, amongst other things, means thatfor the first time, operators who store organic products will be subject to the regulation and in some cases require those operating storage facilities to be registered.
The change ensure there is an audit for the whole supply chain process.
The OF&G's call for storage operators and processors to get registered follows a report in the The Observer newspaper last Sunday, which claimed that there are "disturbing levels of fraudwithin the industry."
The paper's investigation disclosed a raft of malpractice in the industry. Fraudulent moves included food labelling offences and using organic certification without the right accreditation.
