EU Organic: what the green leaf logo covers

EU organic rules are law, not a private standard. Since January 1, 2022, the governing act has been Regulation (EU) 2018/848, which replaced the earlier 2007 regulation. The European Commission's agriculture department publishes the rules for using the logo.

The logo can only go on products certified as organic by an authorised control agency or body. Those products must contain at least 95% organic ingredients and meet further strict conditions for the remaining 5%. The same ingredient cannot be present in both organic and non-organic form.

The logo is compulsory on pre-packaged food produced and sold as organic within the EU. It is optional on imported products that meet the EU import rules, and on EU organic products sold in other countries, which is how it ends up on shelves in the United States.

The logo never stands alone. Two pieces of information have to appear next to it, and both are useful when you want to trace a product.

Each EU country appoints a competent authority, usually its agriculture or public health department. That authority can delegate inspections to private control bodies, public control authorities, or a mix of both. Producers, distributors and marketers must register with their local control body before they may market food as organic.

According to the Commission, all operators are checked at least once a year. EU countries report their results to the Commission each year, and the Commission audits the national systems. It also recognizes and supervises the control bodies that certify organic products in countries outside the EU.

The United States and the EU have an organic equivalence arrangement. USDA explains that products certified to either the USDA or the EU organic standards may be labeled and sold as organic in both markets, as long as they meet the arrangement's terms. Labels on EU products sold here may show the USDA Organic seal, the EU logo, or both.

The arrangement covers crops, wild crops, livestock and processed products shipped directly between the two. It has conditions, and a few label categories do not line up.

Mostly on imported food: olive oil and other cooking oils, wine, jarred baby food and European infant formula.

For formula, keep two questions apart. The leaf tells you the farming and processing met EU organic rules. It does not tell you whether a formula meets FDA requirements for sale in the United States. Our guide to European vs American organic formula covers that, and the choice of formula is one to make with your pediatrician.