EU organic law opposes organic mate tea

Organic or not organic? The issue is not clear in the case of mate tea. The EU Commission and the organic authorities in a number of federal states in Germany question whether certified organic mate tea from South America can be sold as an organic food item. The people affected by this are online traders and manufacturers in these particular federal states. In contrast, some organic tea specialists in the specialist retail trade don't have a problem with this issue because for them different authorities are responsible.

The Argentinian national drink is a niche product in Germany. It is extracted from the leaves of an evergreen holly tree, not from a tea bush. In the treaty specifying the operations of the European Union is an appendix in which the agricultural products are listed to which the Common Agricultural Policy of the EU applies. One chapter is specifically titled “Coffee, tea and spices, except mate.”

The EU Commission draws the conclusion that mate is not an agricultural product and therefore – because the treaty takes precedence – EU organic law does not permit it to be traded and labelled as organic. In the opinion of the Commission this applies to both pure mate tea, tea mixtures and other products that contain mate.  It's also not possible to have a cult drink like Club-Mate in organic quality in compliance with EU law. Although, according to the Commission, it is possible to advertise the product as organic, the use of either the  EU organic logo or the number of the organic control organisation is not permitted.

The EU Directorate General Agriculture expressed this standpoint in writing in October. It was received by the lawyer Hanspeter Schmidt. He had complained to the EU Commission because some federal states, including Bavaria and Berlin, had used the above argument to prohibit the sale of organic mate as an  EU organic product. Although Schmidt saw in this an infringement of the EU Organic Regulation, the Commission supported the interpretation of the federal states. Schmidt does not consider the interpretation of the law by the Commission to be conclusive. In consequence, “it disrupts the market, confuses consumers and is obviously not compatible with the aims of the EU legislators.”

Organic mate tea in the specialist trade is offered by, among others, Heuschrecke, Sonnentor, Oasis and Lebensbaum. Salus and Schönenberger use their own company organic logo, not that of the EU. Sonnentor and Lebensbaum said in reply to our enquiry that they do not have a problem with their control authorities regarding advertising as organic. It was planned to clarify the issue in the new EU Organic Regulation, that has now been put on hold. This would have made it clear that it is permissible to advertise mate tea as organic under EU organic law. This clarification should still be made if the revision is finally laid to rest.