Exporting organic products to Austria
Austria has the highest organic share of farmland in the EU and a demanding domestic supply base. The national interpretation rules in Codex Chapter A.8 are the detail most exporters miss.
The EU framework that applies
Organic production, labelling and imports across the EU are governed by Regulation (EU) 2018/848, applicable since 1 January 2022, when it replaced Regulation (EC) 834/2007. National authorities administer and enforce it; they do not set their own organic standard.
Processed food may be labelled organic only where at least 95% of its agricultural ingredients by weight are organic, with the remainder drawn from the authorised list in the implementing rules.
What must appear on the label
- The EU organic logo — the leaf of twelve white stars on green. Compulsory on pre-packaged organic food produced in the EU; optional on imported product.
- The control body code, placed directly below the logo, in the format
XX-BIO-NNN— ISO country code, then BIO or its national-language equivalent, then a three-character reference. - The agricultural origin statement below the code: EU Agriculture, non-EU Agriculture or EU/non-EU Agriculture. A country name may be used instead where at least 98% of the agricultural raw material comes from that country.
Getting a consignment in
Every organic consignment entering the EU needs an electronic Certificate of Inspection (COI) issued and endorsed in TRACES NT, under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2306. Extracts are used where a consignment is split. The COI is issued in the country of export before the goods leave — it cannot be obtained afterwards.
There are two routes in. Under the compliance regime (Article 46), operators in third countries are certified against EU rules by control bodies the Commission has recognised, listed in Annex II of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2325 and amended by implementing act. Under the older equivalence regime, product may enter from a recognised third country listed in Annex I of the same regulation.
A deadline worth watching. Recognition of the eleven remaining equivalent third countries — Argentina, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Israel, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Tunisia and the United States — together with the Annex II equivalence listings, is set to expire on 31 December 2026.
The Commission has tabled proposal COM(2025) 780 to extend that deadline, but as at the review date of this page it had not been adopted. Anyone sourcing from those eleven origins should confirm the current legal position before contracting for delivery beyond that date.
1) Mandatory organic standards and labels
Regulation (EU) 2018/848 applies directly. Policy sits with the BML (Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Climate and Environmental Protection, Regions and Water Management); food-law enforcement is carried out by the Länder with support from AGES.
Austrian control body codes take the form AT-BIO-NNN — for example AT-BIO-301 (Austria Bio Garantie), AT-BIO-401 (LACON), AT-BIO-402 (BIOS).
The AMA-Biosiegel and Codex A.8
The AMA-Biosiegel, administered by AMA-Marketing, is the national organic mark, in red or black. Chapter A.8 of the Austrian Codex Alimentarius sets national interpretation rules for organic production, processing and inspection — a layer of detail with no direct equivalent in most other member states.
2) Important voluntary standards and labels
- Bio Austria — the dominant Austrian organic association; its standard exceeds the EU regulation and is the effective entry requirement for much of Austrian retail.
- Demeter Austria — biodynamic, stricter again.
- Ja! Natürlich (REWE) and Zurück zum Ursprung (Hofer) — retailer programmes that function as gatekeepers, with their own origin and traceability requirements.
Austrian grocery is highly concentrated. In practice the retailer programme, not the EU baseline, determines whether an imported organic product is listed.
3) Approved certification and control bodies
Control bodies are authorised by the BML and supervised through the Länder food authorities. The list of authorised bodies is published on the BML and consumer-health portals.
A non-EU exporter is certified by a control body recognised by the Commission for its country and product category under Article 46, not by an Austrian body.
- BML — www.bml.gv.at
- Consumer health portal, list of control bodies — www.verbrauchergesundheit.gv.at
- AGES — www.ages.at
4) Import requirements
Standard EU procedure: an electronic COI in TRACES NT for every consignment, endorsed before departure, with a registered Austrian first consignee under organic control.
The AMA-Biosiegel has two versions, and the difference matters. The variant carrying the AUSTRIA origin panel requires that the raw material and the processing are Austrian. Imported goods can only use the version without the origin panel, and only under licence from AMA-Marketing.
Check Codex Chapter A.8 for the product category you are shipping. It sets national interpretation on processing and inspection detail that the EU regulation leaves open, and Austrian control bodies apply it.
5) Further information
- BMLAustrian competent ministry for organic farming; authorises control bodies.
- Verbrauchergesundheit portalPublishes the list of authorised Austrian control bodies and the Codex chapters.
- AMA-MarketingAdministers the AMA-Biosiegel and licences its use, including the non-origin variant for imports.
- Regulation (EU) 2018/848The base act governing organic production, labelling and imports across the EU.
- European Commission — organic farmingPolicy hub, legislation index and guidance on the import regime.
- TRACES NTWhere the electronic Certificate of Inspection for every organic consignment is issued and endorsed.
- Organic Farming Information System (OFIS)Commission database of control bodies and third-country recognitions.
Last reviewed: 2026-09-06