Important Update: Removal of UK OCBs from Organic Regulation
The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which includes an agreement between the EU and the UK to establish equivalence for organic products up to 31 December 2023, allows for processed and unprocessed products that have been processed in the UK with ingredients that have been grown in the UK or that have been imported into the UK in accordance with UK laws and regulations. It does not allow equivalence to be extended to the re-labelling or re-packaging of imported products.
The UK based Organic Control Bodies (OCBs) were removed from the text of draft Commission implementing Regulation listing all third countries, control authorities and control bodies that can continue operate under the equivalence scheme, for the purpose of importing Organic Products into the European Union
A WRITTEN PROCEDURE VOTE took place last week. The outcome was 26 MS in favour while IE voted against the proposal. The text will now be adopted over the next few days and published in the Official Journal in mid-December. The new legislation will come into effect on 1 January 2022.
From 1 January 2022, the six UK based OCBs will no longer be in a position to certify product from the UK which are imported from other 3rd countries and packaged or re-labelled in the UK.
Please note the organic products covered under the EU-UK Trade Agreement must be unprocessed agricultural or aquaculture products produced in the United Kingdom or processed agricultural products for use as food or feed that have been processed in the United Kingdom with ingredients that have been grown in the United Kingdom or that have been imported into the United Kingdom in accordance with United Kingdom laws and regulations.
