 |
The government aims to approve a new law regulating products labeled as "organic," starting from defining the conditions that those involved in this activity must follow, to the methods of cultivation or production, and up to the testing and export phases.
In a draft law published for consultation by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development under the title "On organic production, labeling of organic products, and their control," it is emphasized that the current law from 2016 that is in force will be repealed, Monitor reports.
According to the draft, it covers several elements from the authority responsible for control, which in this case is the National Food Authority, to production regulations.
Regarding the latter, the draft stipulates that only a certain set of specified substances is allowed in organic products, while the use of GMOs and ionizing radiation in organic products is prohibited.
In specific articles, the law also provides for exceptions from organic production rules when, as a result of natural disasters or other calamities, catastrophic events have occurred, making it impossible to comply with production rules. Exceptions are approved by the Organic Production Commission for a limited period, until organic production can return to normal conditions.
Products and substances used in organic production are aligned with the list specified by the European Union in regulation 1165/2021/EU.
The law also includes the labeling of products, where only those that meet the conditions can use the terms "organic," "organic," "bio," or "eco."
For producers, there will be a transitional phase defined by the law where they will produce as organic but will not be classified as such. This serves as a trial phase, and although they may meet the criteria for "organic" products, they will not be labeled and traded as such.
Registration and export/import
Producers in this category must apply for registration on the e-Albania portal, and the duty of approval belongs to the ministry.
"After the operator or group of operators has submitted the registration request to the Ministry, it must enter into a contract with the selected control body declared in the request. Within 90 days (the maximum deadline set by the discussion with the control bodies, depending on the certified production) from the conclusion of the contract, the control body must complete the inspection of the operator to issue the official certificate and send it to the Ministry," explains the accompanying report that comes with the draft.
The ministry maintains an updated list of names and addresses of operators or operator groups who have registered their activity, along with information on issued official certificates, and publishes it on the official website. The publication of this data is done in accordance with the legislation in force for the protection of personal data.
The control bodies provide an official certificate to each operator or group of operators who have applied for the registration of their activity and comply with the requirements of this law (Article 38). The official certificate is issued in physical or electronic format when possible, depending on the certified operator (physical certificate for farmers who do not use the digitized system).
Meanwhile, in section seven, rules are set for the export and import of organic products with other countries. Regulation 848/2018/EU defines the conditions for imports into the EU, which is our export. For the conditions of our country, we must create an import regime, adapting it to that of the EU.
In Article 54, the conditions for the export of organic products are defined if it meets at least the rules specified in this law and the conditions of the country to which it is exported.