VGNKI EXPERTS EXPLAIN THE TERMS OF LABELING OF ORGANIC PRODUCTS

Currently, only those manufacturers who have undergone the appropriate voluntary certification can use the term "organic" on their product packaging. Starting September 1, 2025, only certified producers of organic products will be allowed to use the terms such as "eco", "bio", "environmentally friendly", "green", and "biological" on their packaging, as emphasized by experts of the Russian State Center for Quality and Standardization of Veterinary Drugs and Feed (VGNKI under Rosselkhoznadzor).

"Today, many producers may be labeling their products as environmentally friendly without any substantiation, merely to enhance the perceived value of the products they produce in the eyes of consumers. They may create their own symbols that resemble eco-labels without undergoing the certification process", explain the experts from VGNKI.

To avoid misleading consumers and to clearly distinguish certified organic products from those that lack certification, amendments to the Federal Law "On organic products" were initiated.

From September 1, 2025, the use of the terms "eco", "bio", "environmentally friendly", "green", "biological", and their derivatives will be restricted to those producers who have undergone the appropriate voluntary certification. These requirements do not apply to products regulated by technical standards that permit the use of the term "bio" in the product name, nor in cases where "green" is used to indicate the color of a product or its ripeness. Additionally, the collocation "green standard" may be used to label agricultural products and raw materials with enhanced characteristics.

In all other cases, manufacturers will be required to undergo the certification before using the aforementioned terms on their packaging.

The VGNKI experts reminded that violating labeling rules could result in fines of up to 100,000 rubles (Article 15.12 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).

Source: Агроэксперт