DOR - the new voluntary certification scheme for agri-food products

Agri-food products that use basic raw materials of Romanian origin in the manufacturing process and meet certain conditions will be labeled with the name "Origin Romania - DOR", according to a draft law adopted yesterday, as a decision-making body, by the Chamber of Deputies .

The normative act establishes the establishment of the voluntary certification scheme "De Origine Romania - DOR", to which Romanian producers and processors have access, a scheme that would guarantee the fact that the purchased food product is made on the territory of Romania and manufactured from raw materials of Romanian origin.

The scheme will be applied in compliance with the notification procedure provided for in Directive (EU) 2015/1535 regarding the procedure for providing information in the field of technical regulations and rules regarding information society services. At the same time, the scheme will be applied throughout Romania for the labeling of agri-food products that use basic raw materials of Romanian origin in the manufacturing process and that comply with the requirements set out in the law.

To benefit from voluntary labeling, the agri-food product must meet the following specific characteristics:

a) in the case of unprocessed products, production, cultivation or reproduction, including harvesting and milking, in the case of cows, sheep and goats, to take place on the territory of Romania;

b) in the case of meat, it must also be obtained from animals born, raised and slaughtered on the territory of Romania;

c) in the case of products of animal origin, other than meat, they must also be obtained from animals raised on the territory of Romania;

d) in the case of processed products, their manufacture will be made from unprocessed products, in the content of which it is allowed to use, in an amount up to 25% of their weight, according to the recipe, some ingredients that cannot be replaced by similar ingredients produced on the territory of Romania.

The law adopted by the Chamber of Deputies also provides that the competent authority responsible for the implementation of the scheme is the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which will establish, in this sense, a National Register of the Voluntary Certification Scheme "De Origine Romania" - document in digital format with all beneficiaries who obtained the DOR certificate.

To benefit from this scheme, applicants will submit to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development a file that will include: the producer's certificate; the specifications containing the photo and the specific characteristics of each agri-food product, ingredients, shape, packaging method, technological flow; voluntary certification type request "De Origine Romania - DOR"; self-responsible declaration certifying the origin of the primary ingredient; the self-responsible declaration regarding the area where each product for which certification and registration is requested is produced and/or processed; the list of products for which certification and registration are requested; the authorization or sanitary-veterinary registration number for the location where the agri-food products for which certification and registration are requested are produced and/or processed.

The beneficiaries of the scheme will use the "De Origine Romania - DOR" logo.

MADR will appoint representatives for the periodic verification of compliance with the scheme's requirements by the beneficiaries, who will conclude a report in this regard. Starting from 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture will provide financial resources from its own budget for the promotion in the country and abroad of the voluntary certification scheme "De Origine Romania - DOR".

Within 30 days from the entry into force of this law, the Government, at the proposal of the Ministry of Agriculture, will approve by decision the methodological rules of application.