The Organic Cuisine Label
An introduction
December 2016
The Organic Cuisine Label
The Danish Organic Cuisine Label
The Organic Cuisine Label was implemented in 2009 to encourage the use of
organic commodities in professional kitchens. The label allows kitchens to brand
themselves by the amount of organic
products used in the kitchen.
The Organic Cuisine Labels are found in
three versions:
• Bronze 30–60%
• Silver 60-90%
• Gold 90-100%
The label shows the amount of organic
commodities purchased by the kitchen.
The amount can be measured by value
or in net weight relative to the total
monetary terms of food and beverages
purchased by the kitchen.
Ingredients must derive from certified
organic productions to be counted as an
organic ingredient, and the suppliers or
producers must be certified organic.
Only kitchens certified with the organic
cuisine label in gold are allowed to describe themselves as “organic” kitchens.
First steps towards the Organic Cuisine Label
Few organic ingredients
As an initial step, a kitchen can draw
attention to specific ingredients within
a meal that are organic such as “In our
kitchen we only use organic potatoes
and carrots”. In that case the specific
ingredients must only be purchased,
used and stocked as organic.
A tool for motivation
It is possible to use the Organic Cuisine
Label as a tool for motivation for more
organic commodities in the kitchen. Start
out by applying for the bronze-label and
work your way to silver or gold.
Market a dish as ‘organic’
One particular dish or part of a dish
can be marketed organic, for example
“organic spinach lasagna” or ”soup with
organic potatoes and carrots”. This is
only possible, when all of the ingredients
are organic, and the same ingredients
are not present in the kitchen in a
non-organic form.
Tools to support conversion of kitchens
Support to the kitchens
Kitchens have several available opportunities for support and instructions that
could aid the organic conversion:
• Organic consultants
• Inspiration and education to
kitchen staff
• Food policies for public kitchens
Organic consultants
Several consultancies or organic
organisations offers help and guidance to kitchens that wish to begin their
organic conversion. Find the full list of
organic consultants on the webpage
økologisk-spisemærke.dk
Inspiration and education to
kitchen staff
Conversion from conventional foods
into organics often requires different
equipment and properly educated staff.
In order to comply with the budgets,
kitchen staff can benefit from optimized
food education such as; food preparation and cooking from scratch, seasonal
menu composition and planning and
added attention to the reduction of food
waste.
Food policies for public kitchens
One path to a successful organic conversion of public kitchens can be to create
food policies for the different municipal
institutions in order to meet the diverse set of needs. As an example, the
nutritional requirements for canteens in
schools have a different set of food requirements compared to those of elderly
care. Dependent on the municipality, the
public offering has to be adjusted to the
requirements.
Support on the webpage
Find support for organic conversion at
www.økologisk-spisemærke.dk:
•
•
•
•
•
General information
Marketing materials
Course overview
News
Cases
State-control of the Organic Cuisine Label
Application and rules
Kitchens, who wish to use the Organic
Cuisine Label, have to apply through the
Danish Veterinary and Food Administration. The application involves sending an
inventory showing the kitchens organic and non-organic purchases within
the last 3 months in accordance to the
applied label.
A label controlled by the state
Kitchens will be subjected to inspection at
least once a year as part of the ordinary
hygiene control by the Veterinary and
Food Administration.
After registration and approval, the
kitchen is allowed to use the Organic
Cuisine Label for branding and marketing. However, in order to maintain the
organic certification it is mandatory for
the kitchen to update the inventory continuously – minimum quarterly.
When the kitchen registers for an Organic
Cuisine Label it is required to provide
information on selected choice of
measurement to determine their organic
percentage (in monetary terms or net
weight) and how often they update their
inventory – minimum quarterly.
Any change in the way of measurement
has to be notified to the authorities.
Negatively or positively
differentiation
If the organic percentage of the kitchen
change in a reporting period, the kitchen
is required to inform the Veterinary and
Food Administration and up- or downgrade their Organic Cuisine Label.
The invoices and information on the
supplier must be available in the kitchen
up to two years.
Special conditions with the
Organic Cuisine Label in gold
Organic food-policy
A kitchen approved for the Organic Cuisine Label in gold has to form an organic
food-policy for situations where organic
commodities are unavailable.
Since game and wild fish are excluded
from the inventory, kitchens are required
to inform guests if the meat is “from hunting” or organic production. Furthermore, kitchens must provide information on
procedures undergone if some commodities are not available organically.
“Organic” as part of the
kitchens name
Only kitchens certified with the organic
cuisine gold label are allowed to describe
themselves as “organic” kitchens.
Organic Cuisine Label marketing material
Several courses, cases and specialized
cookbooks are available in order to
inspire and educate kitchen employees
to work with organics, food waste and
seasonal food preparation.
Free materials on the webpage
A variety of free materials are available
on the webpage, including postcards,
logos and webbanners. Kitchens can
also download several real-life cases as
inspiration on how to celebrate receiving
their Organic Cuisine Label or increase
their organic percentage.
Certified organic kitchens can be found
online on “the organic Denmark Map” on
the webpage økologisk- spisemærke.dk
Branding the eatery
When a kitchens’ organic application is
approved by the authority, they receive a
package with free marketing materials
including posters, postcards, balloons
and badges etc.
Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark
Danish Veterinary and Food Administration
Stationsparken 31-33
DK-2600 Glostrup
Tel +45 72 27 69 00
www.fvst.dk/kontakt
www.fvst.dk