Organic

The EU and Japan have concluded an agreement on the mutual recognition of organic certification. In principle, this should allow food products certified as organic in the EU to use the Japanese JAS organic logo, and vice versa. However, in practice, EU organic certification alone is not sufficient: importers in Japan must also hold JAS organic certification for products to bear the JAS organic logo. The EBC considers this additional requirement inconsistent with the spirit and intent of the mutual recognition agreement and calls for its removal without delay. Removing this requirement would also enable EU organic-certified products to use related terms such as “eco” and “bio”, providing greater clarity for consumers while reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens.