Inspections

This page explains how inspections work, what to expect at each stage, and what you need to do to prepare. It is designed to help food and drink businesses stay compliant with standards and avoid delays to certification.

Inspection guidance

Your business will be inspected annually to ensure that organic standards are upheld.

During the inspection of your food and drink business, there are certain records, documents and processes that the inspector will need to see.

Read the Soil Association organic standards for further information on what the inspection process entails.

The food and drink annual inspection cycle

• if your inspection took place last year in February then your next inspection can happen anytime between January-June this year

• an inspector will contact you (anytime between November to June) to arrange your next annual inspection date

• inspection takes place on an agreed date

• anything identified as not meeting the standards will be raised at inspection and logged on the Soil Association Certification Client Portal as a non-compliance (NC)

• you have 14 days to respond to critical non-compliances or 30 days to respond to a major/minor non-compliance or any requests for information via the portal

• once any non-compliances are signed off, our admin team will send an inspection approval email confirming your current certificate / licence remains valid

• if you do not respond or provide evidence to demonstrate meeting the relevant standards by the deadline set then your licence will be suspended

• if you continue to not respond or provide evident to demonstrate meeting the standards, then your licence will be closed

Inspection checklists

The checklists below provide an overview of what will need to be available based on the activities you are certified to undertake. There is also guidance on completing corrective actions in response to any issues identified at the inspection that need attention.