The Ecolabel regulation of the European Union has recently been revised and the scope extended such that the labelling scheme can now, in theory, cover food, drink and feed products. However, there are concerns that setting Ecolabel criteria for such products may not be feasible. Furthermore, the use of the Ecolabel on such products may be misunderstood especially, although not exclusively, in relation to existing organic labels.
Therefore, a study has been competitively tendered and awarded to Oakdene Hollins, a UK based consultancy firm, that will lead the project together with the University of Göttingen’s Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development and the Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL).
The objectives of the study are:
- to assess the feasibility of establishing reliable ecolabel criteria covering environmental performance during the entire life cycle of food, drink and feed products, including fishing and aquaculture products;
- to assess the added value and impacts of establishing such criteria, including implementing the scheme in the various sectors and the impact this could have on organically certified products;
- to consider, in the assessments under (1) and (2), the option of limiting the scope of the ecolabel to organically certified products (where applicable).
An important aspect of the work is consultation with stakeholders. Input is being sought from relevant representative organisations and trade associations. Any initial comments and enquiries should be directed by e-mail only to Helmut Sengstschmid (Hanna Stolz