“We will continue the battle until the end but the text will probably not change any more”, laments Louis Merlin, the president of the APSIR, the Association of salt producers of the Ile de Ré. These salt workers, like those of Guérande and Noirmoutier, have been struggling for months with the European Commission and a project for an “Organic Agriculture” label devoted to salt.
For these craftsmen subjected to the vagaries of the weather, this certification could have enhanced their meticulous and exhausting work. As it stands, it will above all eliminate any distinction between artisanal and industrial salts, the latter being essentially extracted from mines or with a lot of chemistry and energy-intensive processes. The European Commission has thus presented a text – called a “delegated act” – to the Member States and is preparing to launch a public consultation in November.
This procedure will pave the way for its adoption in January and then for its entry into force next spring, details the AFPS, the association bringing together all French salt workers. “This text notably eliminated the use of explosives to obtain salt – it seems so obvious – but has changed little in reality. Thousands of tons of salt could be labeled as organic with aberrant techniques, that should not even have crossed the minds of the members of the Commission”, underlines Louis Merlin.
A motion of support
Faced with the French salt workers and their Portuguese counterparts, the lobbying of European industrialists would have weighed more in the balance. “France was almost alone in this fight and found itself facing very well organized countries such as Germany, Poland or Austria”, explains the saunier rétais who was able to count – like his peers – on the support from the National Assembly and the government.
This Friday, October 21, the Departmental Council of Charente-Maritime unanimously adopted a motion of support for the 80 salt workers installed in the department. A welcome boost “to give visibility to this subject”, considers Louis Merlin who fears future operations of greenwashing (greenwashing) of the salt industry and the distortion of the organic label in the eyes of consumers.