The European Commission has announced the winner of its EU organic logo competition.
More than 130,000 people voted online to choose the new design which, unlike the current symbol, will be obligatory for pre-packaged organic products produced across the EU's 27 member states.
German student Dusan Milenkovic polled 63% of the votes in the final round to pip two other finalists. His ‘Euro-leaf’ will appear on products produced in the EU from July 1 2010.
It will be optional for imported products and other private, regional or national logos will be allowed to appear alongside the EU label. The organic farming regulation will be amended in the coming weeks to introduce the new logo into one of the annexes.
Mariann Fischer Boel, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, said: “I'm delighted that we now have a fresh EU organic food logo.
"This exercise has raised the profile of organic food and we now have a logo which everyone will be able to identify with. It's a nice elegant design and I look forward to buying products carrying this logo from July this year."
Nearly 3,500 logos were originally submitted in a pan-European contest open to art and design students. The three finalists faced the online vote and will receive prizes of €6,000, €3,500 and €2,500 respectively.
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