The European Commission is seeking comments on its proposal to defer the requirement for organic produce to carry an EU organic logo and a declaration of origin.

Article 24 of regulation 8344/2007 requires that a community logo, with an indication of origin, should appear on the packaging of EU produce marketed as organic.

The existing EU logo is thought to no longer be suitable, and the commission’s first attempt to produce an acceptable alternative failed.

This leaves insufficient time to find a new logo and phase in its use by January 1, 2009 - so the commission has deferred the operative date to July 1, 2010.

The UK opposed the commission’s first attempt at a new organic logo, says the Fresh Produce Consortium, because its design, based around the term BIO, was not associated with organic by UK consumers.

The commission intends to use a public competition to find a logo which will be recognised by consumers across all countries.