From 2022, regulations on the production and certification of ecological products will apply in Poland. Producers will have to reckon with penalties for the misuse of “bio” or “eco” labels, misleading consumers and falsely styling their products to be organic. – Thanks to this, we will be sure that the products in the stores actually come from organic farming. Less often we will also come across those that only pretend to be ecological – says Dr. Małgorzata Pietras-Szewczyk from the University of Lower Silesia in Wrocław. Today, many companies use their pro-ecological initiatives in their messages to consumers, but they are often apparent.
“In the European Union, work is currently underway on the introduction of a new regulation on the certification of organic farming products. A database will be created in which all producers of organic food will be entered, which is to include allow them to be controlled. Penalties will also be introduced for labeling products with symbols similar to the European organic farming certificate,” explains Dr. Małgorzata Pietras-Szewczyk, assistant professor at the University of Lower Silesia in Wrocław, in an interview with the Newseria Biznes agency.
According to the regulations in force in the EU, organic products must consist of more than 50%. from ingredients of agricultural origin (water and salt are not taken into account). In addition, at least 95 percent. these ingredients must come from organic farming. Such products are marked with a leaf symbol surrounded by stars on a green background. This is the EU organic production certificate, which is quite well associated with consumers.
In Poland, there are 13 certification bodies which issue or withdraw such certificates under the authorization of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The EU logo can only be used for those products that meet strict production, processing, transport and storage standards.