Organic food producers from the European branch of the IFOAM association have brought a lawsuit over the use of the Eco-Score food labels by a growing number of retailers in several countries. According to legal documents presented before the Paris Court of Justice, producers asked the court to terminate the environmental labeling of food products. They consider it “unfair to organic production and deceptive for consumers.”
The lawsuit challenges the French Agency for Ecological Transition (Ademe), Open Food Facts, which operates the Eco-Score platform, and several companies actively involved in Eco-Score promotion and implementation. IFOAM has explained that the Eco-Score labels, in its view, represent a violation of the EU’s regulations on organic product labeling.
More specifically, marking foods with an “Eco” label “is considered likely to create confusion among consumers (…)” when it comes to distinguishing food produced by conventional means and organic food. Such labeling constitutes “a misleading commercial practice,” the association wrote. Most organic products sold within the EU use specific labels, such as “Bio.”
Source: oliveoiltimes.com