Please write to this email address: okologisk-spisemaerke@fvst.dk or seek information in this Q&A

ACCOUNTING

How do I calculate my organic percentage?

You calculate your organic percentage by looking at your purchases for the last three months.

If you have one supplier, you can ask this supplier to create a statement with your organic percentage for the last three months. The statement is valid documentation for your cuisine label, provided you have a minimum of 30%, 60%, or 90% organic purchases.

If you have multiple suppliers, you can use the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration's Excel file for your organic accounting. It is an Excel sheet that automatically calculates your organic percentage based on your invoices. Download the organic accounting file here. The file contains tabs that guide you through the completion.

What is best? Organic percentage in kroner or kilos?

The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration recommends that eateries applying for the Bronze Organic Cuisine Label calculate the organic percentage in kilos, as this quickly yields a high organic percentage. It is often the "heavy" ingredients such as coarse vegetables, flour, milk, etc., that are replaced with organic ones first. However, for a restaurant/café, it may sometimes be more advantageous to calculate in kroner, as beverages, coffee, and meat are more expensive than their conventional counterparts, and these are typically the ingredients that a restaurant/café purchases the most of.

May one weigh, for example, a bell pepper oneself? And should it be done every time?

Yes - the item must be weighed if the organic percentage is calculated in kilograms and there is no weight indication on the raw material on the invoice, receipt, or packaging itself. If it is often the same item that is purchased, the weight can be estimated based on judgment or experience (for example, 1 liter of milk ≈ approximately 1 kilogram) and used going forward. If purchasing 100% organic items, the entire bag can simply be weighed.

Please note that it is the weight of the condition in which the raw material arrives in the kitchen that the kitchen must weigh. If the kitchen is calculating in kilograms, for example, purchased potatoes without peel must be weighed or calculated in this form, just as it is always the net weight, i.e., without packaging, that should be used for kilogram calculations.

Should herbs, flowers, etc. from garden and forest used in food be included in the organic accounting?

Yes, if these ingredients are systematically used in cooking, they should be included in the organic accounting. Herbs, flowers, etc. from own production are considered conventional ingredients unless they are grown on organic-certified land.

Which items are noted in the "not covered" field/column in the organic accounting?

Water (including bottled water without citrus and other flavorings, but possibly with carbonation), table salt, bottle deposits, as well as wild-caught fish and other food from hunting and fishing, are excluded from the accounting. The same applies to certain salts, such as those occasionally used in cooking, which do not originate from agricultural production, for example, calcium chloride (for neutralizing oxalic acid-containing foods). Non-food products such as candles, napkins, glassware, etc., are also not included.

Should purchases for, for example, staff events be included in my organic accounting?

Yes. If the ingredients are similar to those served to the kitchen's regular guests, they should be included in the organic accounting.

A kitchen can only exclude purchased ingredients from the organic calculation if they are for special occasions, such as a staff Christmas party.

To keep the ingredients out of the organic accounting, it is a prerequisite that the purchases are:

-Accounted for separately from other purchases (e.g., with a separate invoice for the purchase),

-And that procedures are documented for ensuring that the ingredients are not used in the preparation of food for the kitchen's regular diners, and that the kitchen has assessed in advance how much food is purchased for the staff event.

The cuisine label in Gold & Raw Material Policy Requirements

If you apply for The Organic Cuisine Label in gold, your kitchen must develop a raw material policy. The kitchen's customers/guests should have easy and immediate access to read the kitchen's raw material policy; for example, on the menu or through table signage or with a reference to read more on the dining establishment's website, etc. The purpose of a raw material policy is to ensure that consumers are not misled because the use of wild-caught fish and game is "neutral" and not included in the organic accounting.

Which suppliers should be included in the organic accounting?

All suppliers (both organic and conventional) must be included in the organic accounting to calculate an overall organic percentage.

Where do I check if my supplier is organic certified?

You can find the organic certificates in the EU's database TRACES NT:

Organic Operator certificates (europa.eu)

Should purchases from grocery stores be included in the organic accounting?

Yes, all food and beverages should be included in your organic accounting. You should record your receipts from grocery stores in the accounting. Only items on the receipt with "ORG" (organic) written before them can be counted as organic in your accounting. If an item on your receipt doesn't have "ORG" written before it, you can ask the cashier to write it on the receipt next to the item and then stamp the receipt with the store stamp and date. If an item doesn't have "ORG" written before it, it should be counted as conventional, even if it's organic.

Kitchens that calculate their organic percentage in terms of money can choose whether to calculate the organic percentage based on the price with or without tax. The choice should be consistent throughout the accounting, so it's always calculated the same way, both from suppliers and grocery stores.

Kitchens that calculate their organic percentage in terms of weight can choose between the following options:

(i) to make two calculations: one calculation in terms of weight of deliveries from their regular suppliers and one calculation in terms of money of purchases from the grocery store in question. Both calculations must show that the organic percentage at least corresponds to the label.

 I use Excel for organic calculation, but it calculates 100 % organic by a mistake

This is caused by an error in the way you insert the numbers in the file. If you insert the conventional groceries i column D, it will affect the organic percentage to become 100%. Column D is only for groceries like non-food and bottled water, as these groceries are to be left out of the calculation. See all the groceries that is out of the calculation in another FAQ further above.

Beverages

Should beverages be included in the organic accounting?

Yes, the organic percentage is calculated based on all food and beverages, both conventional and organic.

Can soda be excluded from the organic accounting if the soda vending machine is placed outside the cafeteria area, in the hallway?

All purchased food and beverages related to the kitchen must be included in the organic accounting. If sales from vending machines occur in the cafeteria area, and thus are associated with the use of the Organic Cuisine Dining Label, it must always be included in the calculation. If sales from a vending machine are not associated with the kitchen but appear as a separate sales unit with its own inventory and accounting, it can be excluded from the organic accounting.

Can conventional natural wine be included in the organic accounting?

Unfortunately, it is not possible to give special status to natural wine, even though it may be sustainably produced. If natural wine is not organically certified, it is included as a conventional beverage in the organic accounting.

If a wine is Demeter certified, is it approved as organic?

Yes. If the wine is labeled with the Demeter logo, then EU organic regulations must be complied with. Therefore, the wine must also be labeled with the EU organic logo.

Can partially organic products from external suppliers, such as juice made from 75% organic fruit, be counted as organic?

No, only purchased products that are 100% organic may be counted as organic.

Fish

How should oysters be accounted for in the accounting?

Organic farming of shellfish is subject to similar rules as other organic food production. If they cannot be found in organic form, they are considered conventional. However, if you catch them yourself, they will be considered wild-caught, and thus they are neutral in the accounting.

Control of organic accounting

How and where should I store my organic accounting for inspection?

You can either have your statements printed, for example, in a folder, or have the organic accounts/statements stored on a computer. The statements just need to be accessible during inspection, no matter which employees are present during the inspection.

How often does the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration conduct inspections?

Restaurants are inspected approximately once a year, typically in connection with regular food inspections.