The European Commission today unveiled the winning design for the new EU organic logo. The ”Euro-leaf” design shows the EU stars in the shape of a leaf against a green background. Its simplicity conveys two clear messages: nature and Europe.

From 1 July 2010 the new EU organic logo will be obligatory on all pre-packaged organic products that have been produced in any of the EU member states and meet the necessary standards. It will be optional for imported products.

Other private, regional or national logos will be allowed to appear alongside the EU label. The organic farming regulation will be amended in the coming weeks to introduce the new logo.

"I'm delighted that we now have a fresh EU organic food logo," said Mariann Fischer Boel, Commissioner for agriculture and rural development, who first proposed the competition to select the logo.

"This exercise has raised the profile of organic food and we now have a logo which everyone will be able to identify with. It's a nice elegant design and I look forward to buying products carrying this logo."

The winning logo was the result of a pan-European contest open to art and design students. Nearly 3,500 logo submitted designs were examined by an internationally renowned jury. The best three logos were uploaded on the competition website www.ec.europa.eu/organic-logo and subject to an online vote which ended on 31 January 2010.

Some 130,000 people voted online to choose the new organic symbol from the three finalists. The winning logo was designed by Dusan Milenkovic, a student from Germany, who gained 63% of the overall vote for his “Euro-leaf” logo.