To the dismay of the UK trade, the European Commission has unveiled a new logo to be used on all labelled organic products with effect from January 2009 as well as a draft regulation governing its use.
“The Fresh Produce Consortium and other UK trade associations have objected repeatedly to the design of the logo,” said the FPC’s chief executive Nigel Jenney “We argue that to UK consumers the word ‘bio’ featured on the logo as an indication of the production method of food, is meaningless, and more associated with other non-food consumer products such as washing powder and things like bio-fuels.”
The Soil Association, Defra and the NFU had also objected to the new logo. Users can start switching to the new logo before it becomes mandatory in 2009, but it does not need to be used on fresh produce sold loose or other lines that are not labelled.
More information on the use of the logo is available from the Fresh Produce Consortium or Defra’s organic website pages: http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/organic/
