Court bans Herbaria's organic label over non-plant additives in landmark ruling
A long-running legal battle over organic labelling has ended with a clear ruling against Herbaria Kräuterparadies. The company had advertised its plant-based product, Herbaria Blutquick, as organic despite containing non-plant-based additives. Germany's highest administrative court confirmed that such labelling violates EU organic standards. The dispute began in 2012 when the Bavarian State Research Center for Agriculture (LfL) ordered Herbaria to remove the EU organic label from its product. The issue centred on the addition of non-plant-based vitamins and iron gluconate, which do not meet organic production rules.
The case eventually reached Germany's Federal Administrative Court (BVerwG), which referred key questions to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The ECJ ruled that organic certification cannot be used for advertising if the entire product fails to comply with strict organic standards. It also confirmed that listing individual ingredients as organic is only allowed when the final product meets full organic requirements.
Herbaria argued that a similar U.S. product still carried the organic label, but the BVerwG dismissed this claim. The court pointed out that the ECJ had already ruled against U.S. organic products with added non-plant-based vitamins and minerals receiving the EU organic label. With this decision, the BVerwG upheld the ban on Herbaria's use of the organic label for Blutquick. The ruling reinforces strict EU organic standards, particularly for processed foods and supplements. Products containing non-plant-based additives, such as vitamins or iron gluconate, will no longer qualify for organic certification. The decision applies to all EU member states, closing a legal debate that has lasted for years.
