The European Commission has officially announced the winner of the EU organic logo competition. Over the past two months, some 130,000 people have voted online to choose the new organic symbol from three finalists. The winning design is by Dusan Milenkovic, a student from Germany, who gained 63% of the overall vote for his “Euro-leaf” logo. From 1st July 2010, the organic logo of the EU will be obligatory on all pre-packaged organic products that have been produced in any of the EU Member States and meet the necessary standards. It will be optional for imported products. Other private, regional or national logos will be allowed to appear alongside the EU label. The organic farming regulation will be amended in the coming weeks to introduce the new logo into one of the annexes.
"I'm delighted that we now have a fresh EU organic food logo," said Mariann Fischer Boel, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, who first proposed the competition to select the logo. "This exercise has raised the profile of organic food and we now have a logo which everyone will be able to identify with. It's a nice elegant design and I look forward to buying products carrying this logo from July this year."
