Non-organic Poultry Derogation Requests update and reminder

There have been some updates made to the process for licensees wishing to request non-organic poultry derogations.

Organic poultry suppliers must be contacted before any order for non-organic birds are made, a list of which can be found here.

If you are within delivery distance of an organic supplier then evidence must be provided of the organic supplier’s inability to provide the required birds. You will be asked by your certification officer to demonstrate that you have contacted the relevant supplier and that they are not able to fulfil your order.

Licensees must ensure that derogation requests are submitted at least two weeks prior to ordering the non-organic birds. Any that are not submitted before ordering will not be granted.

Please do familiarise yourself with the procedure and direct any questions to your Certification Officer who will be happy to help.

When submitting requests for derogations of non-organic poultry (pullets or chicks), please bear the following in mind:

• Organic poultry suppliers must be contacted before any order for non-organic birds is made. You must inform the organic suppliers of normal ordering frequency and numbers required so that they may be able to fulfil future orders, even if they can’t supply them in the short term. You can see a list of organic poultry suppliers on our website here.

• If you are within delivery distance of an organic supplier then evidence must be provided of the organic supplier’s inability to provide the required birds. Evidence can be a screenshot of an email or copying your Certification Officer into the email chain.

• You must place an advert for the required organic poultry on the Organic Marketplace for at least 5 days before submitting the derogation request. Without this the request will be denied.

• All the questions must be answered on the request form, with as much detail as possible. The form can be downloaded from our website and should be returned to your Certification Officer.

• The completed form must be submitted in good time for review by both Soil Association and Defra. Please submit it at least two weeks before ordering any non-organic birds to ensure enough time for approval to be given before you place the order. If the derogation is submitted after this timeframe it will be denied and a non-compliance will be issued at your next inspection.

• We cannot submit retroactive derogation requests. Defra have informed us that any requests for non-organic birds, which are already on the organic holding, will be automatically denied and a non-compliance issued.

• Suppliers of non-organic pullets must raise the birds with organic feed and to organic veterinary standards from three days old. This must be evidenced by the completion and return of the vet and feed declaration form.

If you have any questions about this, please contact your Certification Officer.