Agrifood
- Food systems are responsible for a third of global anthropogenic GHG emissions, M. Crippa et al., Nature food 2021
Link - Design principles of a Carbon Farming Scheme in support of the Farm2Fork & FitFor55 objectives – IDDRI Jan 2022
Link - Environmental food labelling: revealing visions to build a political comprise – IDDRI Oct 2021
Link - An agroecological Europe by 2050: What impact on land use, trade and global food security? – IDDRI – July 2021
Link - Towards a just transition of food systems – Challenges and policy levers for France
Link - An agroecological Europe in 2050: multifunctional agriculture for healthy eating – IDDRI 2018
Link - The Wizzard and the Prophet – Charles C. Mann – 2018
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Climate
- What does the recent IPCC report say about the imperative to adapt to climate change? – IDDRI blog post Feb 2022
Link - IPCC report Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptions and Vulnerability
Link - Summary for Decision makers – Four guiding principles for CBAM design and implementation – Green Trade Network
Link - IPCC-report AR6 Climate Change 2021
Link - Food systems are responsible for a third of global anthropogenic GHG emissions, M. Crippa et al., Nature food 2021
Link - UNDP Human Development Report 2020
Link - WWF Living Planet Report 2020
Link - World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice, 2017
Link - Scale – Geoffrey West, 2017
Link - Limits to growth – Club of Rome, 1972
Link - Silent spring – Rachel Carson 1962
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EU Policy
- Organic Action Plan – EU Commission 2021
Link - Farm to Fork strategy – EU Commission 2020
Link - Biodiversity strategy – EU Commission 2020
Link - A European Green Deal – EU Commission 2018
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Presence of non-authorized substances
Factsheets
- Factsheet ‘presence of non-authorized substances’
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The problem at a glance. - Factsheet ‘Results of industry data collection’
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10 companies analyzed 19,256 organic samples in 2022. A total of 3,652 (19%) samples contained quantifiable residues of non-authorized substances. 5 ‘multiple source substances’, which are also naturally occurring/contaminants present in the environment, account for a big share of all positive findings.
Legal
- Interpreting Articles 28(2) and 29 of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 in accordance with the recognized principles of the EU organic legislation (Neuendorff, Wallau, Dieter, Beck, Nizet)
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According to the authors, two conditions must be met for a ‘presence of a non-authorized product or substance’ to result in a ‘suspicion of non-compliance’: a non-authorised product or substance must in fact be present in the organic product in a quantifiable way, excluding “traces”. At the same time, its presence leads to the assumption that the organic product was not produced or processed in accordance with the production rules laid down in the EU Organic Regulation. Once this is established, ”the presence of a product or substance” results in a “suspicion of non-compliance” and the requirements in accordance with Article 28(2) are to be initiated. - Letter by the European Commission to MEPs Lins & Häusling
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In this letter it is made clear that, in case of presence of non-authorized substance, it is up to the operator to check whether a suspicion can be substantiated. - Letter by the European Commission on the conditions to close an investigation without the source and the cause being determined
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This letter clarifies that a non-conclusive investigation on the source and the cause of the presence of non-authorized substances can only be closed if demonstrated explicitly that all possible means of investigation have been exhausted.
Practical
- QM-Votum – Professional handling of contaminants in organic food processes
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A platform with all relevant and updated information on individual substances and contaminations that can occur in organic food. - Best Practice: AöL factsheet for operators
- „How do I proceed in case of a possible non-compliance with the Organic Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2018/848) according to Article 27 or Article 28( 2)?“
National implementation
- Up-to-date compilation
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An incomplete compilation of national measures. Please share with us your national situation, so that we can get the full picture.
Science
- Phosphonic acid in plant-based food and feed products – Where does it come from?
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The multiple entries of phosphonate in food products. - Assessing the Origin of Phosphonic Acid Residues in Organic Vegetable and Fruit Crops: The Biofosf Project Multi-Actor Approach
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In line with EFSA findings, the presence of phosphonic acid is linked to agricultural inputs: voluntary application of FOS or PHY-K or unaware supply by external inputs containing undeclared ET-PHY. - Presence of pesticides in the environment, transition into organic food, and implications for quality assurance along the European organic food chain – A review
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This review provides an overview of pathways for unintentional and technically unavoidable contamination of organic food with synthetic pesticides in Europe. - How pesticides impact human health and ecosystems in Europe – European Environment Agency, 2022
Link - Geissen, V., et al., 2021, Cocktails of pesticide residues in conventional and organic farming systems in Europe – Legacy of the past and turning point for the future – Environmental Pollution 278, 116827 (DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.116827)
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