The AMA-Biosiegel
for organic food
Alongside the EU organic logo, the AMA-Biosiegel is the only official label for organic foodstuffs in Austria.
Its requirements are more demanding than those of the EU Organic Regulation.
What does the AMA-Biosiegel stand for?
The requirements of the AMA-Biosiegel guarantee high food quality, adherence to additional environmental standards and assured verifiability of origin.
The red and white AMA-Biosiegel with the indication of origin AUSTRIA guarantees Austria as the place of origin of the agricultural raw materials and also as the place of treatment and processing. Meat and meat products may only bear the red and white AMA-Biosiegel if the animals were born, raised, slaughtered and butchered in Austria.
More thoroughly organic
Through special care in the selection of organic ingredients
The EU Organic Regulations allow the use of selected non-organic ingredients in compound foods up to a maximum of five per cent by weight.
In the AMA-Biosiegel programme, the agricultural raw materials must be 100% organic, including gelatine, for example. In accordance with the EU Organic Regulation, natural casings, pectin and yeast – which are demonstrably not available from organic production – can be replaced by ingredients from non-organic production.
Natural products, thanks to additional specifications for production and processingng
The natural nature of organic foodstuffs is regulated in the EU Organic Statutes. Among other things, it restricts the used of certain food additives and processing aids.
The AMA-Biosiegel goes further by further limiting the number of permitted additives and processing aids.
By not using palm(kernel) oil
The use of organic palm oil or organic palm kernel oil is not permitted in the AMA-Biosiegel programme.
Through environmentally friendly packaging
Packaging material containing chlorine must not be used if it could come into contact with the organic food.
Greater Quality
Thanks to a number of microbiological and chemical-physical criteria in the AMA-Biosiegel programme
Thanks to a number of microbiological and chemical-physical criteria in the AMA-Biosiegel programme.
A number of microbiological and chemical-physical criteria in the AMA-Biosiegel programme go beyond the basic legal requirements.
These include, for example, the fact that dairy products must still be quality class 1 when they reach their best-before date. The AMA-Biosiegel also sets precise criteria for microbiological limits for spreads that go beyond the law.
Through regular farm inspections, ongoing product analyses and sensory examinations
Compliance with the EU Organic Regulation and the AMA organic labelling guideline is ensured through regular farm inspections.
Ongoing product analyses increase food safety. Sensory tests according to recognised test schemes guarantee organic consumers high product quality. For example, a guaranteed beef maturation period of at least nine days is prescribed for prime cuts (e.g., lung roast, beef sirloin, roast beef).
Through verifiability of raw materials and operating resources
The origin and quality of raw materials and operating resources must be fully documented and therefore traceable.
Regular company inspections, during which quantities and verifiability are examined, ensure that all requirements are met. The AMA-Biosiegel is based on an every-step quality assurance and control system (similar to the AMA-Gütesiegel).
Through high standards of hygiene
The hygiene of products and production facilities is very important for the AMA-Biosiegel. This is why good manufacturing practices and measures to avoid health risks for consumers are prescribed.
For example, compliance with the HACCP concept is examined as part of the AMA-Biosiegel inspection.
The AMA-Biosiegel labelling guideline also sets further requirements. One example: In slaughterhouses, animal welfare and hygiene requirements must be met that go beyond the legal requirements.
Verifiable origins
The red and white AMA-Biosiegel with the indication of origin AUSTRIA guarantees Austria as the place of origin of the agricultural raw materials and also as the place of treatment and processing.
Meat and meat products may only bear the red and white AMA-Biosiegel only if the animals were born, raised, slaughtered and butchered in Austria.
A similarly comprehensive regulation of origin also applies to milk and dairy products such as cheese or yoghurt with the red and white AMA-Biosiegel. Here too, the animals must live on Austrian farms and be milked there. Processing must take place in a domestic dairy.
The following applies to eggs with the red and white AMA-Biosiegel: they are laid by hens on an Austrian farm, then are sorted and packaged here. Fruit, vegetables and potatoes are grown exclusively in local fields, orchards and greenhouses.
Even in the case of foods with the red and white AMA-Biosiegel consisting of more than one ingredient, all value-determining agricultural raw materials come exclusively from Austria. Only in exceptional cases may ingredients in such foods come from another country – for example, if an ingredient is not produced in Austria or is not produced in market-relevant quantities. Classic examples are organic bananas in organic fruit yoghurt or organic pepper in organic sausage.
In the case of foods bearing the black and white AMA-Biosiegel without an indication of origin, the origin of the raw materials and processing is not restricted.
Regular inspections
Participants in the AMA-Biosiegel Programme commit themselves to a three-stage system of testing:
- Continuous self-inspection of the farms with an established checklist
- External farm inspections by independent inspection bodies at least once a year
- Unannounced remedial inspection (inspection of the inspection) by the AMA or its authorised inspection bodies
Ongoing product analyses during processing and sensory tests according to recognised test schemes guarantee high product quality for organic consumers.
Additional environmental standards
In addition to not permitting the use of palm oil, the AMA-Biosiegel also contributes to the protection of our environment through sustainable packaging. For example, no materials that are classified as poorly degradable plastics, such as chlorinated PVC, may be used.
Did you know, ...
... that there are around 25,000 organic farms in Austria, which together farm a quarter of the total agricultural land?
The AMA-Biosiegel and the EU Organic Logo? – Similarities and differences
In order to label their products with the EU organic logo, farmers, processors, retailers and importers must comply with the provisions of EU regulations.
This also applies to products labelled with the AMA-Biosiegel. However, AMA-Marketing has defined additional criteria for the AMA-Biosiegel that go beyond the standards of the EU Organic Regulation. Some examples are summarised below:
Raw materials
The agricultural raw materials are 100 per cent organic. In exceptional cases, natural casings, pectin and yeast can be replaced by products from conventional production if they are demonstrably not available from organic production.
Quality programmes
The agricultural raw materials come mainly from organic farms that participate in quality programmes and whose requirements go beyond the legal requirements.
Product quality
Optimum product quality (e.g., spreadability of butter, tenderness of beef due to prescribed meat maturation).
Restrictions on additives
According to the EU Organic Regulation, selected additives and processing aids may be used if their use is technologically unavoidable or serves special nutritional purposes. Demands of the AMA-Biosiegel are more rigid here and further restrict the number of permitted additives and processing aids.
Product analyses
Ongoing product analyses and laboratory tests: In the AMA-Biosiegel programme, a number of microbiological and chemical-physical criteria go beyond the legal requirements; for example, a maximum limit for the total bacterial count is defined for sausages, while systematic residue monitoring must be carried out for fruit and cereals.
Sensory testing
Mandatory sensory tests according to defined criteria for taste, odour, consistency and appearance.
Packaging
Environmentally friendly packaging: packaging material containing chlorine, for example, may not be used if it could come into contact with the organic food.
Origins
The place of origin of the agricultural raw materials and the place of treatment and processing is guaranteed.
Austrian Food Codex
Food with the AMA-Biosiegel must also comply with the Austrian Food Codex.
Control system
Participants in the AMA-Biosiegel Programme commit themselves to a three-stage control system: firstly, continuous self-inspections, secondly, annual inspections by external inspection bodies and thirdly, monitoring by the AMA.