Safety of commercially viable bio-based products: labelling and standardization

Abstract

Bio-based products can make the economy more sustainable and lower its dependence on fossil fuels. For this reason, the EU has declared the bio-based products sector to be a priority area with high potential for future growth, reindustrialization, and addressing societal challenges. An assessment made by the European Commission has indicated that bio-based products and biofuels represent approximately EUR 57 billion in annual revenue and involve 300,000 jobs. According to forecasts, the bio-based share of all chemical sales will rise to 22% by 2020, with a compounded annual growth rate of close to 20%. Taking into account that bio-based products represent an important part of the circular and bio-economy as a major source of the economic growth and employment in Europe of 21st Century some basic information on bio-based products is presented in this paper. In this paper particular attention has been paid to standardization process of bio-based products and to their labelling in order to promote the uptake of these products by consumers and to implement “green procurement policies”