As a trader, you may use the Bio-Siegel to label products only if the following requirements are met:
Any company that produces, processes, stores or markets organic products is subject to controls according to EU regulations on organic production. Retailers, however, are exempt from such controls, for instance if they sell products directly to final consumers without further processing (i.e. packaging, labelling) or storing such poducts outside the point of sale.
Please also contact your local authority for details. Click here for contactpersons.
Online traders of organic products should also contact their local authority to find out whether they are subject to controls.
Products which bear the Bio-Siegel may only be re-packaged or re-labelled by establishments which participate in a control procedure pursuant to Regulation (EC) No. 834/2007.
Click here for an Overview of EU regulations for organic production.
Compliance with relevant regulations must be verified at least once a year by an accredited certi-fication body. Click here for the addresses of all Control bodies for organic products accredited in Germany.
Organic products which were produced, processed or imported pursuant to EU rules and regula-tions [Regulation (EC) No. 834/2007 and implementing rules] may be labelled with the Bio-Siegel.
In principle, all ingredients of the processed agricultural products must stem from organic farm-ing. Strict exceptions are allowed for up to five percent of the ingredients.
Where non-organic /non-biological ingredients of agricultural origin are to be used, they must be listed in Annex IX of Regulation (EC) No. 889/2008 or must have been temporarily approved by an EU member state.
The Bio-Siegel may be used on packaging, on advertising and promotional materials only in accordance with the German Eco Label Ordinance. The design guide provides information regarding Bio-Siegel design and use (size, placement on the packaging, etc.).
Click here to download information about label design and use and the Design Guide
For the time being, the Bio-Siegel is registered as a protected trademark with the German Patent and Trademark Office until 2021. Any claims as to rights of prohibtion or damages which might result under private law shall be pursued by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) as the proprietor of the trademark.
Using the Bio-Siegel for advertising purposes is allowed and indeed encouraged, whether by means of price tags, for instance, or on shelves for organic products. Window stickers or ceiling banners can also be used. For promotional purposes, the maximum size of the Bio-Siegel, according to the German Eco Label Ordinance, may be exceeded.
Before bringing a product labelled with the Bio-Siegel into circulation for the first time, you must notify it to the Information Service Bio-Siegel. There are various options to do so.
Click here for Information on product notification.
