The European organic movement IFOAM has approached the Paris Court of Justice to ask it to ban the use of Eco-score environmental labeling on food products. This information system, he complains, can be unfair and misleading to consumers.
IFOAM, stop the Eco-score.
IFOAM Organics Europe and the French Association of IFOAM Members have called for legal action against the creators and users of the Eco-score label, viz.
– ADEME, the French agency for ecological transition,
– YUCA, a company that owns the YUKA app,
– the company ECO2 INITIATIVE, operator of the ETIQUETTABLE platform,
– the OPEN FOOD FACTS association, also and especially as the operator of the platform of the same name.
Greenwashing risk
Organic movements had repeatedly protested the Eco-score environmental labeling model, pointing out that it paradoxically penalizes precisely the most environmentally virtuous foods, as we had reported. (1)
In fact, the environmental assessment scheme designed by ECO2 only considers the carbon footprint of products. As a result, it can score even intensive agribusiness products that spread poisons favorably against an investment in solar panels. A concept evidently far removed from agroecology, which protects soil and the environment.
IFOAM’s complaint
Eco-score environmental labeling, IFOAM Organics Europe and the French Association of IFOAM members point out, is illegitimate because it
- contrary to Article 30 of Regulation (EU) No. 2018/848 (former Article 23 of Regulation (EC) No. 834/2007) on organic production and labeling of organic products,
- may constitute a deceptive trade practice to the detriment of consumers and the market.
Specifically, and among others, due to:
- its format, as (i) illicitly associates the diminutive “Eco” with certified non-organic products and (ii) is considered likely to create confusion among consumers, not only in France but more widely in Europe, between products from organic production and those from non-organic production.
- the rating methodology used, which is based primarily and essentially on the Agribalyse database and ADEME’s Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), as well as theProduct Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology recently challenged by the European Commission as part of the draft Green Directive states that
– does not consider all the objective dimensions that are essential for the development of reliable environmental exposure of food products,
– ultimately favors intensive, conventional production rather than a transition of production systems to environmentally and biodiversity-friendly processes,
– is not suitable for providing consumers with relevant information about the environmental impacts of food products.
Nullity of related trademarks
Two other legal actions were initiated by IFOAM Organics Europe and the French Association of IFOAM Members.
– the first, brought before the Director General of INPI, to pursue the invalidity of the trademark (No. 4618707) “ECO SCORE” registered at the request of ADEME,
– the second, brought before the EUIPO, to contribute as a third party to the examination of the application for registration as a European Union trademark (No. 018750670) “ECO IMPACT” filed by FOUNDATION EARTH.
Yet another attack on organic
“Instead of fighting greenwashing., labeling systems such as Eco-score contribute to it. They potentially mislead consumers about the organic or nonorganic nature of the food products they are exposed to and favor the products of intensive agriculture.
The organic movement is concerned about the spread of such labeling systems in several EU countries.
It is more important than ever to better inform consumers about the environmental value of their food choices. But this must be done in compliance with European organic farming regulations regarding the terms used, and on the basis of methodologies that take into account all the externalities associated with different modes of agricultural production, particularly on biodiversity” clarifies Jan Plagge, president of IFOAM Organics Europe.
“As stated by the ECA in its recent report, the benefits of organic agriculture for the environment are clearly established in the scientific literature and its development is the best way to achieve an agri-environmental transition of our food systems.
In an already difficult inflationary environment for producers and consumers, attacks on organic agriculture, whether related to the use of misleading terms or biased methodologies, must be stopped. Terms that are only allowed on organic food products by EU regulations should not be used for other purposes, and certainly not on environmentally unfriendly food products as is currently the case with Eco-score“, chimes Jacques Caplat, president of the French Association of IFOAM members.
Notes
(1) Dario Dongo, Marta Strinati. Environmental labeling, the Planet-score debuts in France. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 17.11.21
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
