A new European regulation offers the possibility for all types of salt (marine but also mining) to obtain the organic label.
A "total nonsense" for small producers and deputies on the Atlantic coast, who fear "unfair competition" and "consumer confusion".
They hope that their text, which aims to support small French salt producers, will be to the taste of the rest of the Assembly.
This Wednesday, four parliamentarians from the Atlantic coast (Loire-Atlantique, Vendée and Charente-Maritime) will submit to the vote a motion for a resolution "inviting the government to defend the strong requirement attached to the European certification of organic salt and its methods of production ".
The new European regulation, which since January allows all types of salt to claim the organic label, is of great concern to salt workers, and in particular in Guérande where the famous white gold is produced.
Explanations.
Why an organic label for salt?
While salt workers have only been considered farmers for a few years, salt did not really fit into the boxes until then.
“It is a mineral, therefore neither animal nor vegetable, which did not correspond to the criteria of organic”, explains Sandrine Josso, deputy (Modem) of Loire-Atlantique at the origin of the motion for a resolution.
Until the European Commission decides to look into the matter, by appointing a group of experts.
“We were in favor at the time, because we thought that only sea salt, harvested by hand, could obtain this label, recalls Christophe Annaheim, president of the French association of manually harvested Atlantic salt producers.
Finally, not to offend anyone I imagine, we are told that all types of salt will be eligible:
industrialists but also mine salts!
»
What are these types of salt?
Unlike salt from salt marshes, harvested manually after the natural evaporation of seawater, the vast majority of French production comes from mining extraction, based on drilling techniques, and intended for industry or road snow removal.
On the shelves of supermarkets, there is also "industrial" sea salt, which has generally undergone a leaching treatment, again carried out by machines.
"So many techniques that clearly contradict France's sustainable development objectives", protests Sandrine Josso, who speaks of "total nonsense", even a "food scam".
What are the salt workers of Guérande, Noirmoutier and Ré afraid of?
With “almost all” of the salts which could therefore claim the AB label, Christophe Annaheim fears “unfair competition” between small producers and large industrialists, caused by “consumer confusion”.
Salt workers dread being wiped off the shelves if customers only trust the label and go for the cheapest.
“We almost disappeared in the 1980s, but we have managed to recover by asserting our specificity, our know-how, by offering a quality product.
Today we are threatened.
Some 600 salt workers now work in Guérande, Noirmoutier and on the Ile de Ré.
"We must bring them peace of mind for the future, as well as for the economic and touristic influence of our territories", believes Sandrine Josso.
Can voting for this text change things?
“It is a very strong sign on the political level, continues the deputy, who encourages “the other European countries” to launch the same approach, pending the drafting of a next delegated act, which could change the situation.
According to the parliamentarians, the protection of the “requiring content of the European certification of organic productions, of which salt has symbolic value, is directly at stake, as it crystallizes all the heritage, environmental, cultural, socio-economic or historical dimensions.
»
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