Germany Urges European Database Of Certified Organic Suppliers To Curb Fraud

Germany has asked the European Commission to establish a dataset of certified organic producers to help reduce the risk fraudulent organic labeling. Several cases of conventional meat falsely labeled as organic have surfaced in Europe, and Germany believes a database would allow organic regulators to take swift action against producers who falsely label their products as organic to be able to charge higher prices. It would also ease concerns of organic consumers who want assurance that they are getting what they are paying for. Organic regulators would have to update the database immediately if they revoke a producer’s organic certification, which are at any rate often forged or passed off as current. Germany’s proposed new system would also permit supermarket chains to check whether their suppliers were still certified to deliver organic produce.