Soil Association sourcing requirements updated

The Soil Association’s ‘Sourcing Organic Ingredients’ annex has been updated to version 1.8.

The annex details the extra Soil Association requirements that apply if you are using products or ingredients certified to other organic standards. For example: organic eggs, meat, or fish.

The main change is to poultry sourcing requirement 5.4 Number of birds permitted in each house:

• The number of organic laying hens in each house must not exceed 2000 birds.

• However, if the laying hens are certified to a scheme the Soil Association recognises for independent welfare outcome assessment, the number of laying hens in a house may reach, but not exceed, 3000.

• The Soil Association recognises the following scheme’s independent welfare outcome assessment for laying birds: RSPCA Assured.

• This update to sourcing requirement 5.4 now removes the need for the ‘Information Requirement’: 5.14 Welfare Outcome Assessment. Therefore, 5.14 is deleted from the annex.

This update to the Sourcing Annex is equivalent to changes previously made to the Soil Association Farming & Growing standards.

The Soil Association has developed rigorous welfare outcome assessments for farm animals. These assessments are now part of all Soil Association and RSPCA Assured farm assessments for laying hens. They provide an additional safeguard to ensure measures in place at the farm result in good animal welfare. Further information is available on the Assurewel website.

Download the ‘Sourcing Organic Ingredients’ annex for GB.

Download the 'Sourcing Organic Ingredients' annex for Northern Ireland.

If you have any questions please contact: equivalence@soilassociation.org