Organic production: traceability, indications on agricultural products and foodstuffs (amend. Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91)

The committee adopted the report by Danielle AUROI (Greens/EFA, F) broadly approving the proposal under the consultation procedure, subject to a few amendments: - the EU should provide more funding for research into environment-friendly farming practices; - the provisions seeking to define the term 'organic' in the various Member States should also take account of the languages of the incoming countries; - exceptions to the labelling rules, e.g. allowing manufacturers to market non-organic products under names which tend to suggest the opposite (such as Danone's 'Bio' range), should be deleted; - the inspection system for imports from third countries should not be disproportionately onerous for smaller retailers in the EU. Retailers not carrying out any preparation and selling such products directly to the final consumer or user, as prepackaged products, should not therefore be subject to the inspection provisions. However, it should be specified that retailers who import prepackaged products directly from third countries should remain subject to the provisions governing inspection certificates and the list of approved third countries. �