EU Organic Labeling

QCS must verify compliance of all labels used and intended for use on EU organic products, packaging, containers, and commercial documents as applicable, including products that will be handled by another operator prior to export to the EU.

Annex III of (EC) No 2018/848 describes the compulsory indications required on product to be imported in the EU and for verification by the importer. References in relation to organic shall be easily visible, clearly legible and indelible.

Products exported to the EU shall be accompanied by a Certificate of Inspection. The information mentioned in the Certificate of Inspection shall correspond with the labelling of the products and the accompanying documents.

Labeling Categories

Agricultural products may be labelled as “organic” or “organically grown.”

Wholesale Containers

Non-retail containers including but not limited to cases, produce boxes, super sacks, etc. or accompanying documents must include:

a. Name and address of the certified operation
b. Product name and organic status
c. QCS certifier code and country code identifying the product’s origin (see below)
d. Traceability information such as lot numbers

Products produced in the US that are not NOP compliant must be labeled “for export only.”

Certifier Code

All labels (retail and non-retail) must use the code number of the control body (certifier) who has carried out the most recent production or preparation of the product. This refers to the farm of origin for unprocessed agricultural products. Operations outside the US, use “<country code>-BIO-144. US operations use “US-ORG-51.” Click here for a list of country codes.

EU Organic Farming Logo

Use of the EU organic farming logo is allowed on labels or other marketing material to represent retail products exported into the EU as organic, but use is not compulsory. Click here to download the EU Organic Farming Logo and here for the User Manual.

The logo must not be smaller than 13,5 mm by 9 mm. In the case of very small packaging where this is not possible, 9mm by 6mm is permitted.EU Organic seal formatting rules are located in 2018/848 Chapter IV
The country and certifier code shall be displayed above or below the EU organic
“Non-EU Agriculture” or “ Agriculture” must appear below the country and certifier code. The country of origin may be used in place of “non-EU agriculture” only when all material was farmed in that country.