To market a product as organic, strict requirements and processes are mandated by legislation. This includes verification, storage, and handling protocols. Authorities inspect compliance annually, sometimes without prior notice. To maintain certification, please provide us with adequate information and data, as we manage your fulfillment.

Rules

The terms "Bio" or "Eco" on a product indicate that it is genuinely organic or eco-friendly and is legally protected. 

According to Regulation (EU) 2018/848, specific terms such as "Bio- / Öko-"; "biologisch / ökologisch"; "biologischer / ökologischer Landbau"; "biologisch-dynamisch"; "biologisch-organisch" are safeguarded in German. 

In English, terms like "organic-", "bio-", and "eco-" are protected. 

These terms can only be used if 95% of the ingredients are from organic farming. A valid certificate, confirming compliance with EU-Eco-Regulation and EU-Label, is essential for each product. To identify organic products, check if the EAN begins with "0," indicating adherence to organic standards. 

Provide necessary certificates & information

When distributing organic products, you must have a valid certification. If you deliver directly from your producer to the warehouse, we also require your producer's certificate to establish the supply chain. Ensure to provide us with the necessary certificates and information, including:

• The concerning legal basis.

• Your legal company address.

• Your certification number.

• The legal entity of the control authority incl. number of control authorities.

• Main activity the certificate is valid for.

• Appropriate validity of the document (signature, sign, expiry date)

Additional steps when creating products in the dashboard

• Name your products containing the terms “organic” or “bio”: Ideally, the SKU name contains some indication as well (e.g. BIOtea001). This helps us and the warehouses to identify organic products and to act accordingly.
• Enable “track organic”: This will ensure that all required documents (e.g. delivery notes) will be collected by us and that all standards for organic certification will be adhered to in order to have full transparency in case of a control.
• Enable lot & expiry tracking: If your organic products have a lot and expiry date, this is a mandatory setting. All organic products being moved along the supply chain need to be traced back at any time.

Provide correct delivery notes and enable delivery item count

When announcing your delivery keep in mind:

1. Counting of delivered items is mandatory when announcing a delivery containing organic products. Please make sure to turn it on!

2. Correct delivery notes are a must for organic products arriving at the warehouse, only then we can inbound them correctly and legally compliant. 

NOTE: In case there is no delivery note attached to the delivery, the warehouse will not accept it and thus will be sent back.

In preparation of the onboarding, we will ask you to send us a first delivery note that has to indicate

• The sender address and their corresponding number of control authority (e.g. DE-ÖKO-006). The sender can be your company, the producer, or a third party. What we need to ensure at this point is, if the last stop in the supply chain has been verified as organic, too. We will ask for additional certificates if the sender is unfamiliar.
  
  

• A list of delivered products, organic products being identifiable as organic (either by a remark, description, or part of the product name).
  
  

• Quantities of all organic products being delivered with appropriate lot and expiry date. It is important to prove the correct amounts of organic products in case of irregularities. If quantity or batches and expiry dates on the delivery note differ from the goods delivered, we reserve the right to refuse acceptance of the goods.
  
  

• Date and place.

Correct delivery notes will be signed and archived at the warehouse, as well as uploaded in the dashboard for you to access in case of an inspection.

Also, please make sure that organic products are visible on the packaging unit and the items themselves. E.g. in case a delivered box contains 6 items, the box should have a visible indicator such as the term “organic”, “bio” or the organic logo on there. This will help the warehouse to act accordingly and make the process much easier.

- Once your products are stored in the warehouse, you will be able to track all your organic products with LOT and expiry date in your dashboard.

- In the case of new organic products, please make sure to follow the steps accordingly.

- If you want to send out delivery notes with your shipments to end customers or other distributors, please inform us accordingly, so we can make sure that this document is compliant as well.

Find some more information about organic basics and organic rules on the European Commission's website.