Organic Agriculture Act Amendment Act
Estonia · Riigikogu · 12 September 2016
The purpose of the amendment to the law is to bring more and more organically labeled produce to the consumer, to encourage the consumption of organic food and the increasingly widespread use of organic raw materials in catering companies. The possibility to refer to the use of organic raw materials through a label specially developed for caterers is provided. There is an opportunity to show the percentage of organic raw material in three ranges: more than 20 to 50 percent of the raw material is organic; over 50 to 80 percent of raw materials are organic; more than 80 to 100 percent of the raw materials are organic. The range can be calculated based on the amount or cost of agricultural products brought to the company for food preparation last month. The data is obtained from the company's accounting documents. Caterers are given the opportunity to decide for themselves whether the calculation of the share is based on the quantity or cost of the products. The current law allows for use in a catering establishment national eco-label if at least 95% of the raw materials used are from organic farming, but this is difficult to fulfill in many companies.