Organic products
When producing organic food, the requirements of organic farming must be met, taking into account the environment and animal welfare. This means that organic products are not allowed to contain any artificial additives. In order to sell products as organic, the regulations and requirements need to be met. The organic products can be recognized by the organic quality mark.
European Organic Label
The European (EU) organic label was established in 2010, so it already exists for more than 10 years. In the past few years, organic farming has become more important in Europe and the range of organic products has also grown. The organic logo ensures that organic products are easily recognizable by consumers. In addition to that, it also helps farmers to sell their organic products in the EU.
Trusted
The EU organic label is mandatory for all pre-packaged organic food products in Europe. Moreover, the label may only be used for products that consist of at least 95% organic ingredients and the remaining 5% must meet additional strict conditions. The institute Skal monitors compliance with the regulations in the Netherlands. This helps to promote trust in organic food and it is also easier to support inspection schemes of the authorities.
Organic registration or certification
All Dutch* companies that sell organic products to consumers, online as well as in physical shops, are obliged to register with Skal Biocontrol. Even if these products are simply resold by retailers. A retailer may only trade in demonstrably certified organic products. This means that both the intermediary and the producer must be certified.
*For businesses in other EU countries (such as Belgium and Germany), there are other inspection bodies. You can find a complete list of authorities on the European Union website.
According to organic European laws and regulations, certification is required for the following activities:
- Agricultural holding (livestock and crop production) or aquaculture
- Processing organic products
- Trade in organic products
- Storing organic products
- Importing organic products
- Point of sale of organic products (supermarket, market stall, specialist shop, organic shop)
Register or certify your webshop?
There are two possibilities for webshops that sell organic products. You can either register or certify your company. In both cases, the same organic regulations must be met. The difference lies in the manner of supervision. If a webshop is only registered, it is tested by means of random sampling, for example by an inspection. In the case of webshops that are both registered and have an organic certificate, there is first an admission test and then an annual inspection.
Registration only
Registering a webshop without certification is only possible if the company meets the following conditions:
- The annual turnover of organic products is less than or equal to €50,000.
- and there are only sales of pre-packaged organic products
- and no other organic activities take place
If your shop meets these conditions, having your own storage for the products offered online is permitted as long as this storage is registered with the Chamber of Commerce.
Registration and Certification
As a webshop owner, you have an obligation to be certified by Skal as:
- The annual turnover of organic products exceeds € 50,000.
- You sell non-prepacked organic products
- You sell organic products under an own trade name (Private Label)
- You repackage and label organic products yourself
- Or if you carry out other, organic activities besides internet retailing
There are no separate regulations for drop shipment webshops. A webshop that dropships products from a supplier of organic products is subject to the same registration and certification criteria as a normal webshop.
For more information on organic certification, please visit the Skal website: https://www.skal.nl
Résumé:
- If you buy and resell Vehgro's organic products, registration is sufficient.
- If Vehgro dropships its organic products for your webshop, then registration is sufficient.
- If you exceed the turnover limit of €50,000 in the above-mentioned cases, certification is mandatory.
- Calling a Private Label product organic is only allowed if your company is certified itself