Any food product sold as ‘organic’ in the UK has to comply with organic regulation requirements written into a set of Standards. Organic certification is a requirement to demonstrate a product or operation has met these legal standards. The Soil Association symbol is a recognised and trusted mark of organic certification internationally, and as a certification body we deliver certification to some of the highest organic standards.
Post Brexit changes
As of Jan 1st 2021 there are rolling changes to importing, exporting and labelling of organic products. For more detailed guidance and information on how these changes might affect your business please visit our Brexit homepage.
If you’re playing a part in the supply chain or marketing an organic food or drink product or livestock feed, UK regulations require you to be certified. Activities in the supply chain that require certification include:
Manufacturing
Packing or re-packing
Storing
Importing
Wholesaling/trading
Labelling organic products
Selling loose produce or zero waste operations
Operations such as warehousing, storage and distribution will also need to be licensed if handling organic products.
Outside of the UK?
If your business enterprise is based outside of the UK, in order for us to certify your products as organic, you’ll need to be certified with the equivalent certification body in the country where your business is based.
What do organic standards cover?
Organic standards apply to all aspects of organic manufacturing and production, storage and sales. The Soil Association Certification organic standards cover the UK’s organic regulations (EC 834/2007 & EC 889/2008 as retained in GB and as applied in the EU if you are in Northern Ireland)) and include some additional, higher standards in some key areas e.g. livestock production, GM, additives and packaging.
Certification involves us auditing your operation to verify how you meet the organic standards. It is therefore important that you have read the standards and are familiar with them. If you have any questions, please contact us, we’re more than happy to answer them.
What’s involved?
There are some key areas that you’ll need to consider when thinking about applying for certification, such as:
Your supply chain
Record keeping
Labelling your products
Product composition
Separation when processing and storing
Importing
Why Certify With Us?
Find out about the wide range of business support we offer.
