EU-ProOrg

ProOrg - How to choose the best organic food processing method?

The organic food market is one of the fastest growing food sector in the world. A major part of the organic food consumed is processed. Therefore, the increasing demand of organic food represents a major challenge for the organic food industry. Production of organic agricultural products is grounded in well-established regulations and guidelines. On the other hand, processing of organic food within food companies is currently not regulated. ProOrg emerged from a need to develop standards and indications for organic food processing within the EU.

Aim
ProOrg partners aim at developing a set of strategies and tools (Code of Practice (CoP), Assessment Framework) that can help organic food processors in the selection of appropriate technologies and innovations that are in line with organic principles.

Approach
The project builds on a participatory design and involves experts from different scientific disciplines, representatives of processors, traders, labelling organizations and other relevant stakeholders, as well as individual companies.

The development of the CoP will be based on an iterative process in which the CoP will be tested at industry by case studies and a market survey. The case studies aims to test usability of the Assessment Framework within food companies producing dairy, fruit and vegetable based organic products in the Netherlands, Denmark and France.

References
Project website: ProOrg