EU & USDA Organic Compliance for Hazelnuts

1. Understanding organic compliance for hazelnuts

Organic hazelnuts must meet strict farming, processing, storage and export documentation rules to be legally marketed as “organic” in the EU, USA and most international markets. Compliance ensures consumer protection, product integrity and transparent supply chains.

Türkiye is the largest global supplier of organic hazelnuts due to its established certification infrastructure, specialized processors and extensive organic orchard network.

2. EU Organic Regulation 2018/848: Key requirements

Any hazelnut product sold as organic in the European Union must comply with EU Regulation 2018/848. This regulation covers farming practices, processing standards and supply-chain controls.

Core compliance points

• Strict prohibition of synthetic pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides.
• Mandatory traceability from orchard to export container.
• Segregation of organic vs conventional raw materials during processing.
• Certified processing lines with validated cleaning and hygiene protocols.
• Annual inspections by EU-recognized certification bodies.

For export to the EU, suppliers must issue a Certificate of Inspection (COI) through the TRACES system before the shipment arrives at the destination port.

3. USDA Organic: National Organic Program (NOP) rules

Hazelnuts exported to the United States as organic must comply with the USDA National Organic Program (NOP). While similar to EU rules, NOP has its own compliance standards.

Key NOP controls

• Approved list of organic farming inputs.
• Verification of soil management and pest control practices.
• Annual audits and documentation checks.
• Certification of processing, packing and storage facilities.
• Import certificates issued by USDA-accredited bodies.

The EU and USDA maintain a mutual recognition agreement, simplifying organic trade between both markets while maintaining certification validity.

4. Maintaining organic integrity throughout the supply chain

Even if orchards are certified organic, a shipment can lose its organic status if mishandled during receiving, drying, cracking, sorting, roasting or packing. Therefore, processors must follow strict segregation and documentation protocols.

Standard organic control points

• Dedicated receiving areas for organic raw material.
• Segregated shelling, cracking and optical sorting lines.
• Cleaning validation between organic and conventional production.
• Traceable batch numbers for every production stage.
• Certified storage with pest-control programs compliant with organic rules.

5. Export documentation required for organic hazelnuts

Importers must ensure the correct paperwork accompanies every shipment to prevent customs delays or reclassification as conventional.

Mandatory documentation

• EU Certificate of Inspection (COI) via TRACES (for EU markets)
• USDA Organic Import Certificate for shipments to the USA
• Processor & orchard certificates valid for the production year
• Batch-level traceability logs for organic verification
• Loading reports & photos proving segregation

Missing or incorrectly issued documentation can result in customs rejection.

6. Buyer recommendations for organic procurement

To ensure long-term program success, industrial buyers should adopt structured procurement and verification practices when sourcing organic hazelnuts.

• Request updated certificates before each harvest season.
• Confirm segregation capabilities and facility certifications.
• Use long-term contracts to secure limited organic supply.
• Request sample traceability documents before placing orders.
• Verify COI or USDA Import Certificates before shipment release.

Need certified organic hazelnuts?

Atlas Hazelnuts provides EU and USDA-certified organic kernels, paste, oil, meal and chopped formats for global buyers.

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