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English: The East African organic product standard (EAOPS) was written for organic production in East Africa and has been adapted to conditions in East Africa. The EAOPS was developed through an intensive, inclusive and transparent regional consultation process. Feedback from national consultations, field testing and technical comparisons with international organic standards were fed into the work of the Regional Standard Technical Working Group (RSTWG), the body tasked with writing the standard's text.

This EAOPS has been based on organic standards currently in place in the region as well as the IFOAM Basic Standards and the Codex Alimentarius guidelines for the production, processing, labelling and marketing of organically produced foods.

The standard is intended for the development of organic production and trade in the East African region. The standard provides the platform for a common label for organic products in East Africa and for developing consumer trust. The standard also formulates standpoints that can be used in standards. Further, it can be a basis for equivalence agreements with other countries and regions.

The EAOPS has been written in a way to make it easy for the reader and user to access and understand. Because of the need for organic agriculture to be adapted to local conditions, the standard is not overly prescriptive. The standard covers plant production, animal husbandry, bee-keeping, wild production and processing, and products there from, regardless of their final use. In the future, other areas will be incorporated as the need arises.

Because organic agriculture is dynamic, and new knowledge is continuously being generated, this standard will be revised regularly to incorporate new knowledge. The revisions will involve consultations with the stakeholders.

The East African Organic Mark (EAOM) Producers that follow the East African organic products standard and that are verified by recognized systems can get the right to use the East African Organic Mark hereafter abbreviated as EAOM. The EAOM is a Market promotion logo and aims at facilitating marketing of organic products in the five East African Countries and enhance regional trade.

Custodian of EAOM The National Organic Agriculture Movements, hereafter abbreviated NOAMs, currently Burundi Organic Agriculture Movement (BOAM), Kenya Organic Agriculture Network (KOAN), National Organic Agriculture Movement of Uganda, (NOGAMU) Rwanda Organic Agriculture Movement (ROAM) and Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM) are the custodians of the logo on behalf of stakeholders of organic agriculture sector in East Africa. In this regard, the NOAMs register the EAOM in their respective country and only allow use of the mark to those who meet the set conditions. All NOAMs commit to engage in consumer awareness creation and education towards the usage of the mark. They will also allow others to reproduce the mark, e.g. governments making campaigns for organic, consumer associations and NGOs informing their members, etc.

Usage on products: The Mark can be used on any product under the following conditions: • The products should have been produced in accordance with the EAOPS or a standard considered being equivalent with the EAOPS, e.g. NOP, EU, JAS. For categories of production not yet part of the EAOPS, the mark can be used for production according to any standards endorsed by a NOAM (e.g. the UOS fishery standards). . • On case-to-case basis, NOAMs may consider organizing the printing of smaller sticker with the mark, that small producers can get access to. Bigger producers will most likely incorporate the mark in their own label designs.

Labelling • A raw or processed product labelled as “organic” shall contain, by weight, excluding water and edible salt, no less than 95 % organic ingredients. The remaining ingredients may include non-organic ingredients fulfilling the relevant parts of this standard. • A product labelled as “made with organic ingredient(s)” shall contain, by weight, excluding water and edible salt, at least 70 % organic ingredients. The remaining ingredients may include non-organic ingredients fulfilling the relevant parts of this standard. • For a product in which less than 70 % of the ingredients are organic, the word organic may be stated in the ingredient panel or in conjunction with the organic ingredient. • All ingredients of a multi-ingredient product shall be listed on the product label in order of their weight percentage. It shall be apparent which ingredients are of organic origin and which are not. All additives shall be listed with their full name. Where herbs and/or spices constitute less than 2 % of the total weight of the product, they may be listed as “spices" or “herbs" without stating the percentage. • The name and contact address of the responsible operator shall appear on the labelling for products in their final consumer packaging. • The certification body or the PGS responsible for the conformity assessment should be identified • Labelling shall follow the applicable legislation. • A statement that the product is “produced according to the East Africa Organic Standard” may be made on the labels.

Advertising and promotion The mark may be used on advertisements for products, but only clearly linked to products that conform to what is written above. The Mark can be used on general promotional material for organic agriculture e.g. key holders, T-shirts, banners, brochures and any other promotional materials. The Mark can be used on shop fronts etc as long as the shop stocks conform produce (they may stock non-conform produce at the same time.)

Quality assurance The mark can be used by any producer that is certified by a well-know certification body operating in the region and whose standards are considered equivalent to the EAOPS (e.g. UgoCert, EnCert, TanCert and the EU bodies working in the region).

For other conformity assessment systems (e.g. PGS systems), producers approved by a conformity assessment system recognised jointly by the National Organic Agriculture Movements may use the mark

Appearance: • The logo may be inserted on a package of any size for customers to see • The symbol must appear:  Complete and upright, maintaining its original shape and proportion  In the defined green and white colours or black and white colours clearly visible  On the main face of the label or packaging

The symbol must not appear: • Incomplete • At an angle • With extra circle • In other colors apart from black and white or the original colours

• With different font or typeface