Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007, is the basic organic farming act in force in the European Union Member States as of 01 January 2022, and in third countries including Türkiye, as of 01 January 2025.

According to the repealed Regulation (EC) No 834/2007, control bodies recognized by the European Union as equivalent control bodies are, under the new Regulation (EU) 2018/848, required to fully comply with the Regulation and apply all rules in their control and certification activities. Equivalence policies created and implemented by control bodies themselves, with the approval of the European Commission, will no longer be used under the new Regulation. All rules will be applied in full compliance with Regulation (EU) 2018/848. For example, from now on, a control body will not be able to have its own policy regarding the retroactivel recognision as being part of the conversion period; processes will be carried out strictly in accordance with the relevant rules of Regulation (EU) 2018/848.

Link to Regulation (EU) 2018/848: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/848/oj/eng

According to the new regulatory structure of the European Union; there is primarily a basic act (here, Regulation (EU) 2018/848) and its secondary Legislations.

Secondary Legislations consist of Commission Implementing Regulations, Commission Delegated Regulations, and Amending Regulations.

• Commission Implementing Regulations: They are always limited in scope and aim to ensure the uniform application of EU legislation. The subject of any implementing measure serves only this purpose. Implementing Regulations related to the basic act (EU) 2018/848 are under the management of the EU Commission Organic Farming Committee and provide information not specified in the basic act to ensure that the rules are applied consistently by relevant parties.

• Commission Delegated Regulations: These are delegated acts, which may be used to supplement the basic act with regard to non-essential elements or to amend specific or non-essential elements of a legislative act. Delegated Regulations require approval from the European Parliament and are therefore stronger and more difficult to amend.

• Amending Regulations: These are published when the European Commission makes amendments to the basic act, Implementing Regulation, or Delegated Regulation, and they contain only the relevant amendment. After a certain period, the amended Basic Act, Implementing or Delegated Regulation is republished including the amendment. In this form, the Regulations are referred to as the consolidated version. In cases where a consolidated version has not yet been published, both the Regulation itself and the amending Regulation must be considered together.

Important Implementing Regulations are listed below:

• (EU) 2020/464: Certain rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 as regards the documents needed for the retroactive recognition of periods for the purpose of conversion, the production of organic products and information to be provided by Member States.

• (EU) 2021/279: Detailed rules for the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 on controls and other measures ensuring traceability and compliance in organic production and the labelling of organic products.

• (EU) 2021/1165: Authorising certain products and substances for use in organic production and establishing their lists.

• (EU) 2021/1378: Certain rules concerning the certificate issued to operators, groups of operators and exporters in third countries involved in the imports of organic and in-conversion products into the Union and establishing the list of recognised control authorities and control bodies.

• (EU) 2021/2119: Detailed rules on certain records and declarations required from operators and groups of operators and on the technical means for the issuance of certificates.

• (EU) 2021/2307:  Rules on documents and notifications required for organic and in-conversion products intended for import into the Union.

• (EU) 2021/2325: The list of third countries and the list of control authorities and control bodies that have been recognised for the purpose of importing organic products into the Union.

Important Delegated Regulations are listed below:

• (EU) 2020/2146: Exceptional production rules in organic production.

• (EU) 2021/771: Specific criteria and conditions for the checks of documentary accounts in the framework of official controls in organic production and the official controls of groups of operators.

• (EU) 2021/1698: Procedural requirements for the recognition of control authorities and control bodies that are competent to carry out controls on operators and groups of operators certified organic and on organic products in third countries and with rules on their supervision and the controls and other actions to be performed by those control authorities and control bodies.

• (EU) 2021/2306: rules on the official controls in respect of consignments of organic products and in-conversion products intended for import into the Union and on the certificate of inspection(COI).

Products that can be certified according to Regulation (EU) 2018/848:

The scope of products under the new EU Organic Farming Regulation (EU) 2018/848 is defined as Agricultural Products and Certain Other Products Closely Linked to Agriculture. Accordingly, certifiable products are those listed in Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 (live or unprocessed agricultural products, including seeds and other plant reproductive material, processed agricultural products for use as food, and feed), products included in the EU agricultural products CN code list (TFEU-Annex I), and certain other products closely linked to agriculture listed in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2018/848. If a product is neither an agricultural product nor a product closely linked to agriculture, it cannot be certified. (TFEU:TREATY ON THE FUNCTIONING OF THE EUROPEAN UNION)

Certain Other Products closely linked to agriculture under Regulation (EU) 2018/848 (Annex I) – also Category G products:

• Yeasts used as food or feed,
• maté, sweetcorn, vine leaves, palm hearts, hop shoots, and other similar edible parts of plants and products produced therefrom,
• sea salt and other salts for food and feed,
• silkworm cocoon suitable for reeling,
• natural gums and resins,
• beeswax,
• essential oils,
• cork stoppers of natural cork, not agglomerated, and without any binding substances,
• cotton, not carded or combed,
• wool, not carded or combed,
• raw hides and untreated skins,
• plant-based traditional herbal preparations.

Product categories according to Annex II of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1378, accepted under Regulation (EU) 2018/848:

A: unprocessed plants and plant products, including seeds and other plant reproductive material
B: Livestock and unprocessed livestock products
C: Algae and unprocessed aquaculture products
D: Processed agricultural products for use as food, including aquaculture products
E: Feed
F: Wine
G: Other products listed in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 or not included in previous categories

According to Section II of Regulation (EU) 2018/848, the objectives and principles of organic production, the general production rules set out in Articles 9, 10, and 11, and the detailed production rules for similar products set out in Annex II also apply to products in Category G.

According to Article 21 of Regulation (EU) 2018/848, the European Commission is empowered to adopt supplementary Regulations to add detailed production rules to Annex II of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 for products in Category G and to amend those added rules.

Regulation (EU) 2018/848 consists of 9 Chapters:

1. Chapter I: Subject matter, Scope, and Definitions

2. Chapter II: Objectives and Principles of Organic Production

3. Chapter III: Production Rules

4. Chapter IV: Labelling

5. Chapter V: Certification

6. Chapter VI: Official Controls and Other Official Activities (Not applicable to operators in third countries; third countries must refer to Regulation (EU) 2021/1698)

7. Chapter VII: Trade with Third Countries

8. Chapter VIII: General Provisions

9. Chapter IX: Procedural, Transitional, and Final Provisions

Detailed Plant Production Rules are set out in Annex II Part I of Regulation (EU) 2018/848. This part addresses in detail issues such as the use of in-conversion and non-organic plant reproductive material, soil Management and fertilization, pest and weed Management, record-keeping obligations, mushroom production, and collection of wild plants.

Detailed Production Rules on Processed Food are set out in Annex II Part IV of Regulation (EU) 2018/848.

Collection, Packaging, Transport, and Storage of Products are dealt with in detail in Annex III of Regulation (EU) 2018/848.

In order to understand the rules on a specific issue under the basic EU Organic Farming Regulation (EU) 2018/848 outlined above, it is necessary to first examine the relevant article of the basic act, then the detailed production rules set out in Annex II, and, where applicable, the relevant Implementing Regulation, Delegated Regulation, and Amending Regulation.

We strongly emphasize that in your review of the Regulation, you should consider the most up-to-date Regulation, i.e., the consolidated Regulation, and if there are amending Regulations not yet incorporated into the consolidated version, these must also be taken into account.

A wide range of information regarding the basic EU Organic Farming Regulation (EU) 2018/848, as well as comparative analyses with other Regulations (Turkish and USDA-NOP), may be found in our prepared articles.