Organic labelling of food products

Organically produced food products are increasingly sold on EU markets. An organic label enables food suppliers to distinguish their products from other food products and give EU consumers the possibility to buy specific products, i.e. organic food products.

In the EU there are many organic labels originating from governmental labelling programmes as well as from private sector initiatives. For an exporter of organic foods to the EU it is important to verify which label(s) found favour on the market(s) he wants to place his product (i.e. which EU Member States).

This document gives an overview of the main labelling programmes in the EU and 10 EU Member States and Norway. Furthermore, tips on how to assess your chances are provided.

Please note that the overview focuses on relevant labels. Some EU Member States do not have labelling programmes that include products from third countries (for instance in Italy, Spain and Portugal) and other countries, mainly in Eastern Europe, do not have labelling programmes at all and are consequently not relevant.