Done: Restaurants and cafes may advertise eco-goods – Radio Sweden

Unlike grocery stores have restaurants and cafes not received advertise that they use organic products. But now the NFA changed, can echo tell today.

– Fantastic! It is unbelievable relief. We have been around for nine years and has worked with organic all the time but we have not been allowed to say that and it’s really tough, says Björn Almér, founder of the cafe chain Barista.

It has since long been free-for-food stores to market their organic products, but when it comes to restaurants and cafés, it has however been a great deal of uncertainty. Is it legal or not?

There is no EU legislation governing organic products in restaurants and cafes, and from the National Food Administration’s side has, among other things, said that it is illegal, or come up with vague statements, any which has hit the cafe owner Bjorn Almér after calls by the NFA had to take down all their eco-labeled signs.

– It costs a considerable sum, but it is not primarily money to reprint all signs, it was maybe 30-40 000, but the big problem is that 1.5 million customers a year do not see that it is organic. It is not good when we spend so much energy trying to further develop the organic range, says Björn Almér.

Industry Organization Visita has been a long time trying to get the NFA to come by clear rules in this area without having succeeded. But now cafes and restaurants then market their organic products, a decision that affects many. The number of restaurant business was, according to Statistics Sweden (SCB) business statistics 25,300 in the year 2014. It includes where even cafes and the like.

– We believe that it is possible to say that the products are organic under the conditions that they are , meaning that it has organic ingredients or ingredients or that the milk is organic when it serves milk, says Christina Ohlsson, general counsel at NFA.

So, as long as you have organic products, you get market it as organic products?

– Yes, you can tell that the ingredients are organic, yes.

There are the restaurant owners out there who have lost thousands of dollars because of this ambiguity.

– I can only apologize for it understood that we were tough and could not provide the answer to this question. I can not say why, but can say that it is unfortunate if we have come up with vague statements, says Christina Ohlsson.

Baris Kayhan
baris.kayhan@sverigesradio.se