The decision on the EU logo was finalised on 1 March 2010. The new logo can now be used as soon as the new regulation is published and enters into force. At that time the logo will be available for download at the EU organic website.

Products with the old EU logo can be sold until stocks are exhausted.Packaging material with the old logo and code numbers can be used until 1July 2012 if the product complies with Regulation (EC) 834/2007 in all other aspects other than the labelling.

The logo can be printed in green and white or black and white. In addition,if the packaging is dark the logo can be printed in a negative format, and when a coloured logo is printed on a coloured background an outer line to make a better contrast between the logo and the background is permitted. The logo can be combined with other logos or texts referring to organic farming provided the nature of the EU logo is not changed. The code number can be placed in the same visual field as the logo but does not have to be placed directly beneath the logo.

There will be a new system for the code numbers for certification bodies and governmental authorities. The new code numbers will have the format of AB-CDE-999. The first letters, i.e. the ‘AB’ represent the ISO code for the country where the product was finally certified. The middle section of the code is an indication of organic farming, the text to be decided by the Commission or the EU Member State. So far the terms ‘bio’, ‘öko’, ‘org’ and ‘eko’ have been mentioned as acceptable but it is likely there will be more.The number in the end of the code indicates the certification body or governmental authority code that took the final certification decision for the product.

A certification body that is active in several countries will have more then one code, but it is not yet clear how the code system will work in detail. What is clearly stated is that the Commission shall make the code numbers available to the public by any appropriate means, including publication on the internet.

Eva Mattsson