The European Commission has adopted a proposal on the voluntary digital labeling of European Union (EU) fertilizers, and suppliers of fertilizer products that meet EU-wide health, safety, and environmental standards (CE-marked) will be allowed to provide information on a digital label.
Digital labeling is already used in the EU for some products containing chemicals – for instance, batteries – and digital labeling rules are under consideration for certain other products, such as detergents and cosmetics.
Given that digital labeling will be voluntary, suppliers and retailers can choose how to provide the labeling information, i.e., a physical format, a digital format, or a combination of the two.
Products sold in packaging to farmers and other fertilizer consumers will continue to have the most important information on a physical label, such as safety for human health and the environment, in addition to the digital label.
The aim is to better inform product users, while at the same time simplifying labeling obligations for suppliers and to reduce costs.
The proposal has been sent to the European Parliament and the Council for approval. Once adopted, the new rules will be applied two-and-a-half years after their adoption in order to allow for technical rules to be decided upon.