AGRICULTURE BIOLOGIQUE

The French national certification standard called Agriculture Biologique, translated as "organic farming", is awarded on the basis of criteria set by the European Union for organic farming. Natural cosmetics with this certificate are made up of at least 95% organic ingredients.

The certificate, which was first established in France in 1985, is the national equivalent not only for the certification of natural and organic cosmetics, but also for foodstuffs. Since 1 January 2009, this certificate has been in line with European standards for organic farming. The control and award of the certificate is carried out under the supervision of national independent regulatory bodies.

In order to obtain this certificate, a product must contain at least 95% of ingredients from organic farming, making this certificate one of the most stringent in terms of the proportion of organic ingredients. Products carrying this certificate must be produced or processed in EU countries.

The main focus is on organic farming practices, respect for the natural balance and comfortable conditions for farm animals. The Agriculture Biologique certificate does not allow the use of genetically modified raw materials (with a maximum permitted adventitious GMO content of 0.9%) and any breach of the rules is punishable by severe penalties. The use of substances harmful to human health, such as synthetic perfumes, dyes, petroleum derivatives, synthetic preservatives, etc. is prohibited.

For more details, please visit http://www.agencebio.org/.