He should be cleaning his ponds with his “boutoué”, a five-meter-long handle that ends in a wooden squeegee, to prepare for the summer salt harvest. But this Wednesday, February 23, Christophe Annaheim, salt worker in Guérande (Loire-Atlantique) and president of the Association of Atlantic Sea Salt Producers, is traveling to the National Assembly in Paris. He will support a motion for a resolution carried by 4 parliamentarians from the western facade and signed by 330 deputies. Purpose of this text? Invite the government to mobilize so that only salt harvesting methods that are compatible with the environment can benefit from organic certification.
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A European Union regulation of May 30, 2018 on the production and labeling of organic products came into force on January 1. In its first version, only sea salt might benefit from this certification. But following discussions between the Council and the European Parliament, other salts intended for human and animal consumption have been added, in particular mine salt (or rock salt) which is extracted by drilling and uses large quantities water under pressure. “A food scam”for the deputy of Loire-Atlantique Sandrine Josso, initiator of this resolution with three other deputies of the presidential majority.
An “ancestral tradition” under threat
“The natural salt of the Atlantic has a high heritage, environmental and gustatory valueshe continues. By including other salts in this organic label, we deny the ancestral tradition of salt workers and salt workers who harvest salt manually through the evaporation of seawater and respecting the seasons. » The “industrial method” mine salt harvesting has not, according to her“to benefit from the organic label”.
For salt worker Christophe Annaheim, the consequences of this gender confusion would be disastrous for the 600 sea salt producers, who represent 800 jobs and less than 1% of French salt production. “We have succeeded in revitalizing the artisanal production of salt in France by positioning ourselves on a quality market which gives us a living.he describes. What can be done if tomorrow salts of industrial origin, produced in millions of tonnes, also benefit from the organic label? In the stalls, consumers will no longer know the difference and will take the cheapest product. »
European countries divided
In Europe, this subject divides the countries with a coastline (France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, etc.) and the countries further east which have little or none (Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, etc.). “We can imagine that these countries have been maneuvering to broaden the criteria”, comments Olivier Catrou, head of the organic farming division at the National Institute of Origin and Quality.
If he recognizes that the salt produced by mining is “very pure”its production methods are not sustainable. “It would be the first time in history that a mining product would be considered compatible with the organic label”, he points out. The European Commission must present a new version of its project to the Member States on March 8 and 9.