According to a latest announcement, the Council of European Union has agreed with the European Parliament on labelling pet food with mostly organic ingredients with the EU’s organic production logo. The new Regulation (EU) 2018/848 applies since 2022.
Before the regulation, all countries had their own requirements for organic pet food which resulted in organic labelled products containing ingredients that were not produced organically.
The new regulation only allows an organic label if 100% of the agricultural ingredients and 95% of dry ingredients are organic. The problem has been, that pet food processors could not meet these demands since there is very limited availability of organic agricultural ingredients. That is why, the Council of the EU has made a different proposal for the regulation on November 28 last year:
At least 95%, in terms of weight, of the pet food product’s agricultural ingredients have to be organic so that the product can be labelled the EU organic logo. Also, the organic labelled pet food production must incorporate the EU’s organic production logo.
This modification solves the hitherto existing problems and will give more pet food processors the opportunity to participate in the organic market. Consumers can also easier find real organic pet food.
“For many of us, pets are an important part of our family, and we care about what they eat,” stated Peter Kullgren, Swedish Minister for Rural Affairs. “As a result of the agreement, it will be easier for pet owners to choose organic food for their pets.”
At the next meeting of the Special Committee of Agriculture, EU representatives will be solicited to accept the agreement. Subsequent to this, a revision will take place before ministers of the Council of the EU will adopt it.
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