Importing organic products

When importing organic products to the EU you are required to present a Certificate of Inspection (CoI) to the Swedish Food Authority. The purpose of the certificate is to establish that the products indeed are organic.

Certificates of Inspection for imports of organic products

Each country has inspectorates, which issue Certificates of Inspections to certify that goods are organic. You are required to present a Certificate of Inspection for each consignment of organic products that you import to the EU. The Certificate of Origin is issued in Traces.

The regulations on organic products apply to the following goods:

• living or unmanufactured agricultural products;
• manufactured agricultural products intended as foodstuffs;
• animal feed;
• vegetative propagation material and seed.
  

Livsmedelsverket ansvarar för tillämpningen i övrigt av bestämmelserna för ekologiska produkter som är avsedda som livsmedel medan Jordbruksverket ansvarar för foder och andra ekologiska produkter.

Which authority is responsible for what?

The Swedish Food Authority is responsible for applying the regulations on organic products that are intended as foodstuffs, whereas the Swedish Board of Agriculture is responsible for feed and other organic products.

Information about organic products intended as foodstuffs from the Swedish Food Authority.

Information about other organic products and feed from the Swedish Board of Agriculture.

The Swedish Food Authority inspects the certificates at the time of importation, but Swedish Customs should verify that the inspection has been carried out prior before clearing the goods.

Certificates of Inspection are inspected by the Swedish Food Authority in the Traces digital system. This procedure should be completed prior to submitting your customs declaration to Swedish Customs.

Declaring organic products digitally

When importing organic products, you must first register in ECAS and then in Traces.

Conducting business in Traces.

Ask your provider or exporter to request that their competent authority issue the Certificate of Inspection digitally in Traces. The competent authority will register the certificate, make any necessary changes, and authorise the certificate.

Submit the following information to Swedish Customs in your import declaration

Document code

Enter document code C644 in field 44, Annexes, if your products are organic (Certificate of Inspection for organic products), as well as the serial number of the Certificate of Inspection. Write this reference regardless of your declarations procedure. Enter document code Y929 if the product is not organic.

Call-me codes

Enter call-me code 12 in your import declaration (import restrictions, conditions not met). This ensures that a customs officer will verify the certificates in Traces, which is a requirement for selling the products as organic.