Organic certification of microalgae the experience of Naturland

Transcription

1 Organic certification of microalgae the experience of Naturland Dr. Stefan Holler Naturland Aquaculture & Fishery Department 12/8/2015 Sheet 1

2 1. Who are we 2. Legal situation 3. Organic requirements 4. Market situation Sheet2

3 1. Who are we Association for organic farming Founded in 1982 One of the largest international organic associations Diverse areas of activity: - agriculture - processing - forestry - aquaculture - textiles - cosmetics - fair partnerships - capture fishery - microalgae Sheet3

4 2. Legal situation European Union Question 1: Do microalgae fall within the scope of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007? Sheet4

5 The scope of this Regulation applies to (a) live or unprocessed agricultural products; (b) processed agricultural products for use as food; (c) feed; (d) vegetative propagating material and seeds for cultivation. Algae are defined as agricultural products, falling within point (a) of Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 (live or unprocessed agricultural products). microalgae fall within the scope of EU Organic Regulation Sheet5

6 However, no detailed production rules defined by EU Regulation: Art. 42: Pending the inclusion of detailed production rules (for certain microalgae), national rules or, in the absence thereof, private standards accepted or recognized by the Member States shall apply. Variety of (private) standards and production methods, according to which microalgae can be certified as organic Whereat: Detailed national rules or accepted/recognized private standards have to respect fully the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 834/ Sheet6

7 Question 2 What rules do microalgae have to comply with to be imported to the EU as organic? (a) all requirements of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 have been met and the product has been subject to a control by a recognized control authority or control body (Art. 32) ("compliance regime"); or (b) the product has been produced and controlled in accordance with production rules equivalent to those in Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 (Art. 33) ("equivalence regime") Compliance with organic standard plus inspection by recognized control body Sheet7

8 Question 3 Can microalgae bear the EU organic logo? Yes: Once a product can be imported and placed on the market in the EU as organic, it may bear the EU logo according to Article 25 and can circulate freely in the EU internal market as provided for in Article Sheet8

9 Sheet9

10 EU Commission proposal Detailed production rules for the collection and farming of seaweed also apply to micro algae for further use as food! Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 is amended as follows: (1) Article 6a, is replaced by the following: "This Chapter lays down detailed production rules for the collection and farming of seaweed. It applies to the production of all multi-cellular marine algae or phytoplankton and micro-algae for feed. Acceptance of this proposal will result in detailed production rules for microalgae within the EU Reg. (covered by the chapter for seaweed) Sheet10

11 USA The USDA does allow certification of organic microalgae production according to NOP Regulation. However: In the NOP regulations, there are no standards that specifically address microalgae/aquatic plant production. Instead, producers and certifiers must comply with the standards for crops, synthetic substances, maintaining and improving natural resources and any other applicable sections Sheet11

12 Sheet12

13 2. Organic requirements Private organisations that provide organic certification of microalgae Country AsureQuality New Zealand No Australian Certified Organic Australia No CERES Germany Yes Chinese Organic Agribusiness Association (COAA) Taiwan Ecocert France Yes International Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA) Japan Organic & Natural Foods Association (JONA) USA Japan Naturland e.v. Germany Yes Soil Association UK No Specific standards for microalgae No No No Sheet13

14 Naturland standards for organic microalgae cultivation Sheet14

15 The following may be used as culture media Ingredients of agricultural and non-agricultural origin Only vegetable ingredients of agricultural production from certified organic origin Besides this, the following regulations apply: water of drinking water quality table salt, iodised table salt (calcium carbonate (E 170)) is permitted as anti-caking agent) cultures of micro-organisms, cultivated on organic substrata, if available sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) (E 500) to regulate the ph-value and the carbon dioxide (CO2) content mineral nutrients and trace elements, preferably from naturally occurring sources with known composition (e. g. stone meal) Sheet15

16 Particularly the following may not be used as culture media enzymes food additives nitrogen and phosphorus from inorganic or fossil sources (e. g. ammonium nitrate, sodium nitrate, rock phosphate (raw), guano) products from conventional agricultural origin animal products and dung, even of organic agricultural origin A vegan product without use of any ingredients of animal origin Sheet16

17 Permissible processing methods filtering, provided permission granted by Naturland mechanical and/or thermal drying The following in particular are prohibited when processing algae flavouring food additives mineral nutrients not from natural sources, trace elements, vitamins binding additives and wrapping materials as well as coatings 100% pure microalgae Sheet17

18 Naturland quality control parameters for microalgae Parameter Unit Limit Value Heavy metals (assessment criteria see Annex I) Arsenic (As) mg/kg 0,7 Lead (Pb) mg/kg 1,2 Cadmium (Cd) mg/kg 0,3 Mercury (Hg) mg/kg 0,1 Radiation negative Microcystine LR, -RR, YR, Anatoxin - A, Nodularin - R mg/kg < 1 Herbicides/Pesticides n.n. Microbiology Total bacterial count cfu/g 1,0 x 10 5 yeasts cfu/g 1,0 x 10 4 Enterobacteriaceae cfu/g 1,0 x 10 3 E. Coli cfu/g negative Salmonella cfu/g negative PAHs (Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) Benzo(a)pyren Sum of Benz(a)anthracen, Chrysen, Benzo(a)pyren, Benzo(b)fluoranthen µg/kg Sheet18

19 3. Production volumes of organic microalgae Certified product Organic Spirulina Production system Open ponds Organic Chlorella Open ponds / (photobioreactor) Organic Dunaliella Organic Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA) Open ponds Wild collection Sheet19

20 Quantities of microalgae produced per country (2007 & 2014) Country Number of producers 2007 / 2014 Quantity produced (2007*) China 2 / 6 Spirulina: 150 t Chlorella: 35 t Quantity produced (2015**) Spirulina: 1200 t Chlorella: 340 t India 2 / 2 Spirulina: 110 t Spirulina: 500 t Chlorella: 25 t Taiwan 1 / 1 Spirulina: 15 t Spirulina: 35 t Chlorella: 50 t Ecuador 1 / 1 Spirulina: 14t Spirulina: 25 t Morrocco 1 / 1 - Spirulina: 1,6 t Tunisia 0 / 2 No data Spirulina: 3 t Burkina 0 / 1 No data Spirulina: 2 t Iran 0 / 1 No data No data Australia 1 / 1 Dunaliella: no data Dunaliella: no data USA No current data No data Afa: 30 t Argentina 0 / 1 - Spirulina: 18 t Chlorella: 10 t * Organic Aquaculture2009: production and markets ** Own evaluation Sheet20

21 Outlook Organic market in Europe is still growing (6% in 2013) Increase of production of organic microalgae over the last years Organic production mainly in open ponds in southern countries Try to apply organic principles to closed systems in Europe Variety of standards are applied for organic certification of microalgae EU Organic Regulation will probably include microalgae within the chapter of seaweed Sheet21

22 Thank you for your attention! Sheet 22