Demand for organic labels on the rise, trust & transparency deemed crucial motivators

04 Oct 2023 --- The consumer demand for organic ingredients around the world has accelerated in recent years as the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged consumers to look more closely at how foods and beverages support their health and immune systems. On both sides of the pond, the US and Europe have had to reevaluate organic standards in a push for the sector to become more regulated.

Food Ingredients First explores the labeling hurdles and the evolving marketplace of organic products.

Susie Hjorth, commercial transformation director at Tradin Organic, says that, in general, consumers are more aware and understanding of what organic entails.

“With easy access to information nowadays, they hold brands accountable; greenwashing gets called out fast and is not tolerated. Claims and certifications need to be backed up with genuine products and brand stories for consumers to believe them. Just putting a certificate in front of the pack doesn’t cut it anymore.”

“In terms of the development of organic labels, we see a rise of consumers demanding and supporting a “beyond organic” approach — organic going hand in hand with other social or environmental certifications,” she explains.

New requirements for organic labeling involve a large number of new actions that US and European organic product developers must understand.“For example, ROC (Regenerative Organic Certified) is on the rise to promote the rehabilitation of soils and improve the livelihood of farmers and animals at the sourcing locations. Our Cocoa sourcing project in Sierra Leone has been ROC since 2021, and we plan on expanding to other projects in the future.”

Tradin Organic has different kinds of certifications depending on the products. “USDA, EU Organic, Fairtrade, Demeter, ROC and many more. We are always looking to go beyond organic in our products. We care about people, the environment, animals, and ecosystems and want to back this up by going through the certification processes to show this,” notes Hjorth.

Under US & European regulation
Leigh-Anne Vaughan, VP of strategy and marketing for Taste at Kerry, says that in recent years, both Europe and the US conducted reviews of the rules around organic labeling, and these have now been tightened up “considerably.”

“These are causing the entire marketplace of organic products to have to review and revamp their product formulations,” she explains.

According to Vaughan, the updated requirements for organic labeling involve a large number of new actions that the US and European organic product developers and importers must understand and meet.

“This means that all ingredients for an organic product must meet the more stringent requirements required in order to be called organic,’ she remarks. “Product developers must now be certain that each of their ingredients meets the new organic standards. There’s a lot of work to be done both by organic product developers and their ingredient suppliers.”

Taking the US for example, the new regulations require that each shipment of organic agricultural products imported into the country be certified and labeled pursuant to the rule.

They must be declared as organic to the US Customs and Border Protection and be accompanied by valid NOP Import Certificate data.

For organic products being sold in the US, product developers need to ensure that the non-retail containers used to ship or store certified organic products are labeled with organic identity, production lot number, shipping information and unique information linking the container directly to the audit trail documentation.

“Audit trail documentation must identify the last certified operation that handled the organic product,” notes Vaughan. “There’s a lot to do, but it’s a good thing that the rules around what can be labeled as ‘organic’ are being tightened up to assure consumers that they are, in fact, consuming a fully organic product.”

Meeting food formulation standards
Meeting the new standards in both the EU and the US will present significant challenges for organic foods and beverage makers as they will want to ensure that the traditional taste is replicated in the new product formulated to the new standards, underscores Kerry’s Vaughan.

“These updated requirements for organic labeling involve a large number of new actions that organic product developers must understand and meet. In the US, these include calculating the percentage of organically produced ingredients and filing and having available certified reports for all of these. A lot more certification is in the cards under this new regime.”Audit trail documentation must now identify the last certified operation that handled the organic product.

What’s critical is that all people or companies importing or exporting organic agricultural products to the US must obtain an NOP Import Certificate from a certifying agent accredited by the USDA or from foreign certifying agents authorized under an organic trade arrangement prior to their shipment.

The US regulations are coming into force in March 2024, and so product makers need to be working on meeting these right now. Kerry’s organic and regulatory experts are ready to assist in the new organic regulatory regime and process, both in the US and in Europe.

Trust & transparency
Consumers generally are more trusting of organic label claims, and this may exceed the reality of what the products actually deliver, notes Vaughan.

“Tightening up the rules around which ingredients and products can claim to be ‘organic’ in both the EU and the US means that product developers will soon be delivering on the fully organic claim promise. One of the biggest challenges is meeting the enhanced regulatory rules around what can be called an organic natural flavoring or extract ingredient in both the EU and US,” she explains.

Meanwhile, consumers are requesting transparency and better-for-you products. “Consumers who want organic foods and beverages also want these products to address needs such as reduced sugar or added functionality such as protein, probiotics or immune support,” comments Vaughan. “Taking care of these challenges means finding ‘organic suitable’ ingredients that meet the new regulatory rules and which can meet and support the product’s organic claims in the new organic regime.”

Consumers want it all, and that presents both a challenge and an opportunity for organic food and beverage makers.

Also speaking to Food Ingredients First, Elizabeth Seibert, technical operations director at FoodChain ID, a third-party certifier, points to research that indicates the organic trend is here to stay, “with the market projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of over 12% from 2022 to 2029.”

“With strict certification processes, consumers recognize that organic labels verify meaningful production standards beyond just marketing claims,” notes Seibert. “Overall, organic principles clearly resonate as people seek to support their health through their diet and have greater transparency about the manufacturing processes of the food they consume. That’s a powerful combination,” she urges.

Staple household food items
According to FoodChain ID, fresh produce, such as fruits and vegetables, is the leading organic category globally. Seibert says that consumers are seeking environmentally sustainable foods with perceived health and nutrition benefits.

“Freshness, flavor and quality remain top motivating factors for purchase,” she reflects.

Meanwhile, staple groceries and household essentials are critical in driving the growth of organic. “Dairy, bakery and snack foods are experiencing major growth in the US alongside fresh, accounting for 11%, 8% and 6% of the organic market, respectively,” Seibert details.

“The increased availability of organic products at mainstream retailers, along with growing consumer awareness of the perceived health and environmental benefits of organic, has led more consumers to choose organic options for their regular food and beverage purchases.”

Organic labels verify meaningful production standards beyond just marketing claims, says FoodChain ID.Also commenting on which key ingredients are paving the way for organic, Tradin Organic’s Hjorth notes that staples, such as grains, fruits and vegetables that are “consumed every day,” are being brought further into the spotlight. She adds that specifically, those foods and ingredients with health benefits like immune boosting/mood boosting and well-being properties are used for functional products.

“Think of citruses, botanicals, and others like ginger,” she comments.

Ensuring smooth certification processes
According to FoodChain ID, this knowledge will help to avoid costly mistakes at all stages and provides the cornerstone of compliant systems, properly trained staff and ultimately, satisfied consumer expectations.

“Taking time from the outset to invest in educating key personnel pays dividends by de-risking the process of gaining certification,” adds Seibert.

During the certification process, a rigorous organic system plan — which comprehensively documents all of the policies, procedures and processes implemented to maintain organic integrity across the food chain — further paves the way for organic product development by enabling manufacturers to examine production flows.

“This knowledge-building process can have knock-on benefits for organizational efficiency and, as a result, free up time for innovators to develop more high-quality organic products that satisfy consumer demands. While certification requires commitment, with the support of a certifier that specializes in the food industry, like FoodChain ID, brands can unlock consumer trust and develop best practices that exceed expectations,” Seibert summarizes.

Notably, the pandemic caused many people to re-examine their health and lifestyles. “Organic ingredients and products were already on an upward trajectory, but with a heightened interest in health and the ‘food as medicine’ movement.”

“Many consumers became attracted to organic to reduce their exposure to substances such as fertilizers and pesticides and because of the potential environmental benefits,” she concludes.

By Elizabeth Green

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