On August 2, the law “On Basic Principles and Requirements for Organic Production, Circulation and Labeling of Organic Products” entered into force in Ukraine. The law was developed by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy together with the organic sector in order to improve the legal principles of organic production in Ukraine and to adapt them to the relevant EU legislation.
The Ministry of Agrarian Policy is responsible for maintaining registers of operators, certification bodies, organic seeds and planting material. The openness and accessibility of these registers will enable citizens, organic market players, market participants, other interested parties to receive relevant, reliable information regarding organic market operators, certification bodies who are entitled to hold organic production certification and / or circulation of organic products, as well as the presence on the Ukrainian market of organic seeds and planting material. This will increase the transparency of the organic market, the accountability of its participants, protect operators from unfair competition and increase consumer confidence in products labeled as organic.
In accordance with the the new law, the responsibility to implement state control (supervision) in the field of organic production, circulation and labeling of organic products has been granted to the State Service of Food Safety and Consumer Protection of Ukraine. This service will check the activities of operators and certification bodies, as well as carry out planned and unplanned measures aimed to prevent non-organic products being labeled as organic.
Some normative-legal acts to implement the Law have already been introduced. For instance, the state logo for organic products and requirements to qualification of organic inspector has been already approved.
Some important legislation implementing procedures is not yet in force, as it has not been approved by all relevant authorities. Draft procedure (detailed rules) for organic production and treatment of organic products, the procedure for maintaining State registers of organic producers, control bodies and organic seeds, the list of substances (ingredients, components) permitted to be used in organic production and maximal values permitted are still undergoing the official procedure of approval.
The procedure for certification of organic production and treatment of organic products and procedure for maintaining the list of foreign certification bodies are being drafted by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food. Drafts will be presented to the responsible authorities for approval before coming into force.
Detailed description what will change when the law is fully in force in the article of AgroPolit (in Ukrainian).
Source: Agroberichtenbuitenland.nl