Request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesverwaltungsgericht (Germany) lodged on 6 November 2019 — Natumi GmbH v Land Nordrhein-Westfalen
(Case C-815/19)
Language of the case: German
Referring court
Bundesverwaltungsgericht
Parties to the main proceedings
Applicant: Natumi GmbH
Defendant: Land Nordrhein-Westfalen
Other party: The Representative of the Federal Interest before the Federal Administrative Court
Questions referred
Is Article 28 of Regulation No 889/2008, 1 read in conjunction with point 1.3 of Annex IX thereto, to be interpreted as meaning that the alga Lithothamnium calcareum may be used as an ingredient in the processing of organic food?
In the event that that question is to be answered in the affirmative:
Is the use of dead algae also permitted?
In the event that the second question is also to be answered in the affirmative:
For a product that contains the (dead) alga Lithothamnium calcareum as an ingredient and is labelled with the indication ‘Organic’, is the use of the indications ‘contains calcium’, ‘contains calcium-rich sea alga’ or ‘contains high-quality calcium from the sea alga Lithothamnium’ permitted?
____________
1 Commission Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 of 5 September 2008 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products with regard to organic production, labelling and control (OJ 2008 L 250, p. 1).