February 2025
In this IFST Information Statement we will take a look at the rules relating to organic food. We then move on to look at organic food from the customer’s perspective, covering the rules on labelling, concluding with a few notes on where to begin if you are a food business seeking to move into organic food production.
In 2023, 498 thousand hectares were farmed organically in the UK. 60% of UK organic land was in England, 23% in Scotland, 15% in Wales and 1.4% in Northern Ireland. Permanent pasture (including rough grazing) accounted for 62% of organic land in the UK, covering 307 thousand hectares. 10% of organic land in the UK was used to grow cereals (50 thousand hectares). 3% of cattle in the UK were reared organically with a total of 5,230 organic operators in the UK.(1)
Organic food must meet the criteria defined in EU legislation as assimilated in UK law which relates to how food is produced and /or processed, including the labelling for the consumer. (2, 3)
The legislation is aimed at providing sustainable cultivation systems which produce a variety of high-quality products with greater emphasis on environmental protection and more attention to biodiversity with higher standards of animal protection. In organic farming, closed cycles using internal resources and inputs are preferred to open cycles based on external resources. If the latter are used, they should be organic materials from other organic farms, natural substances, materials obtained naturally, or mineral fertilisers with low solubility.
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are specifically not permitted. Regulation on genetically modified food and feed lays down a threshold (0.9%) under which a product's GMO content does not have to be indicated. Products with GMO content below this threshold can be labelled organic.
In addition to any labelling required under assimilated Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, or any other product-specific regulations, the following will apply. Food may be labelled ‘organic’ only if at least 95% of the ingredients are organic, meets organic production rules, all other ingredients are permitted in Annex IX EU No. 889/2008 , any additives and processing aids are permitted as in Annex VIII EU No 889/2008 and the product, its labels and any suppliers are certified by an approved UK organic control body.
Where organic ingredients are used in a product that is less than 95% organic overall, then the term 'organic' may only be used in the ingredients list to describe the organic ingredient. One must still mark the code number of the approved control body and also declare what percentage the organic ingredient makes up out of all of the agriculturally sourced ingredients.
On the label, include the control body code number and a statement of agricultural origin. For food originating in the UK, the code number format is ‘GB-ORG-XX’ with the statement of origin depending on the ingredients being used in one of the following formats:
- ‘UK Agriculture’ if the agricultural ingredients are produced in the UK
- ‘UK or non-UK Agriculture’ if the food is produced using a mixture of agricultural ingredients grown in the UK and outside UK
- ‘Non-UK Agriculture’ if the agricultural ingredients are produced outside UK.
Additionally, if one wishes to use the EU organic logo on organic food produced in GB, the food must meet the EU organic labelling requirements and include an EU statement of agricultural origin (‘EU’ or ‘Non-EU Agriculture’) in addition to the UK statement of agricultural origin.
Further guidance is available in the Soil Association Organic Standards for Great Britain.(5)
The relevant European legislation is EC No 834/2007; EC No 889/2008 and EC No 1235/2008.
If you are looking to assess the feasibility of organic food production and/or processing within your own business a helpful starting point is the set of guidelines produced and available. (6,7)
It is important to fully understand the organic requirements laid down for your own specific business, consider how feasible these are within current operations and review any investments required to move to an organic food production and/or processing system balanced against your marketing opportunities.
DEFRA provide guidance on where to start when you have decided to move forward and take the next steps. You must register with an organic control body if you’re going to produce, prepare, store, import or sell organic products. If you call a food product ‘organic’ it must have been inspected and certified by one of the UK’s eight certification bodies.
- https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/organic-farming
- Organic food: labelling and advertising rules - GOV.UK
- Regulation EU No. 889/2008; EC No 834/2007 ; EC No 1235/2008 .
- eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32008R0889
- Guidance on use of the Euro leaf logo The organic logo - European Commission
- Organic standards for Great Britain
- Organic farming: how to get certification and funding in Great Britain - GOV.UK
- Organic food: approved UK control bodies - GOV.UK
Institute of Food Science & Technology has authorised the publication of the following updated Information Statement on Organic Food , dated February 2025, replacing that of July 2018.
This updated Information Statement has been prepared and peer reviewed by professional members of IFST and approved by the IFST Scientific Committee.
The Institute takes every possible care in compiling, preparing and issuing the information contained in IFST Information Statements, but can accept no liability whatsoever in connection with them. Nothing in them should be construed as absolving anyone from complying with legal requirements. They are provided for general information and guidance and to express expert professional interpretation and opinion, on important food-related issues.