The EU's New Organic Logo

One lucky art student may have gotten a glimpse into his future when he entered a contest to design the new mandatory logo that will appear on all organic products in the European Union—and won. Three finalists—all graphic design students—had their submissions posted on the European Commission’s website, where more than 130,000 people voted on their choice for the new organic symbol. The winner is Dusan Milenkovic from Germany, who gained 63 percent of the overall vote for his “Euro-leaf” design, shown here.

You may wonder how a bunch of college kids got this chance. After pulling its initial design on all European products (not only because it resembled a motif used by a German retailer, but also because it said Bio, which means “probiotic” instead of organic), the European Commission decided to tap young talent for the next iteration. More than 3,400 submissions were narrowed down to three finalists, all of whom will be honored by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development at an official award ceremony in Brussels in July. The three will also have an easier time paying their tuition as they’ll receive prizes ranging from €2,500 to €6,000. As for organic producers, the organic logo will be obligatory on all pre-packaged organic products that have been produced in an EU member state starting on July 1. Look for it next time you travel abroad.—Denise Shoukas

Denise Shoukas is a regular foodspring.com contributor and is the author of foodspring’s food forager blog.

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