Innovation in Soil Association organic standards

Current standards development work

Any live consultations where you can have your say will be listed on this page.

There are currently no live consultations.

Why are you asking me what I think about your organic standards?

For an organic farmer or food producer to use the Soil Association symbol, they must be certified to our higher standards. These are stricter than the legal minimum for organic in areas including animal welfare, protection for the environment and human health and clarity for consumers. We maintain these higher standards because we want to drive change and to continue to set the gold standard for organic certification and food production.

Following the UK’s exit from the European Union (EU), organic farmers and food producers in Northern Ireland follow a different set of organic rules from those in Scotland, Wales and England (GB). In Northern Ireland, the baseline organic rules are set by the EU. Because the standards we are consulting on have been amended by the EU Organic Regulation, they will apply only to organic producers in Northern Ireland.

The new Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 2025/973 makes a number of amendments to the products and substances authorised for organic farming and food, including fertilisers, vet treatments given via animal feed and food additives.

We have carefully reviewed each of these amendments and we are now consulting on including most of them in the Soil Association higher standards. There are some changes made by this Regulation for which we are looking for more detailed input from our stakeholders, and we will use this feedback to help inform our decision on whether any new higher standards are required. Find out more and have your say here.

For further information please contact us.

How standards are set

Soil Association’s standards governance is designed to be independent, transparent and accountable. Our standards are set and overseen by an independent Standards Board.

We aim for our standards to be stretching and ambitious, yet achievable.

Find out more about how we set our standards.

Why we consult

We run in-depth, far-reaching and targeted public consultations as part of our standard-setting process, in line with industry best practice set out by the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance (ISEAL).

We want to hear feedback from all of our stakeholders.

We take all feedback into account before introducing or amending Soil Association standards.

Our ongoing work

Farmed salmon organic standards review

The Soil Association is reviewing its UK organic salmon standards to ensure they deliver high levels of fish welfare and environmental protection. The work sets out where improvements are needed and the changes required to meet organic principles. Read more about the latest updates.

Our past work

Food for Life Served Here standards

In March 2025, we updated our Food for Life Served Here bronze certification standards to reflect the pace of change in the food industry. We want to continue to celebrate the hard work of caterers who are continuing to serve up healthy and sustainable food despite tighter budgets, fewer resources and a turbulent policy environment. Read more about the latest bronze standard update.

Packaging standards

In 2024, we updated our organic packaging standards to reflect growing evidence about problem plastics, recyclability and environmental impact. The changes strengthen protections for people and nature while supporting organic businesses to move towards more sustainable packaging.
Read more about the updated packaging standards.