Defra, UK - Farming - Retail and trade

Farming

Assurance schemes and standards

Farm assurance schemes are voluntary schemes which producers can join to assure customers that certain standards have been maintained in the production process.

The main British assurance schemes all have their own logos and assessment criteria. They are:

the Red Tractor scheme
the RSPCA Freedom Food scheme
the LEAF Marque (Linking the Environment and Farming)
the Soil Association organic standard

The schemes cover a range of standards including safety, welfare and environmental.

Farmers are encouraged to join to build consumer confidence in British food. Over 78,000 farmers and growers in the UK are farm assured, accounting for between 65 per cent and 90 per cent of output in the main commodity sectors. Reaching the required standards may offer marketing opportunities for your produce

The schemes aim to demonstrate assurance along the whole chain, from farm through to the consumer’s shopping basket, including hauliers, abattoirs and suppliers.

An overview of farm assurance schemes has been compiled by the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD).

As a scheme member you will have to undertake regular, independent checks to ensure that your production systems follow the rules. There are also normally annual membership and inspection fees.

The standards for individual crops and livestock vary to reflect the differences in production and legislation.

The Red Tractor scheme

The Red Tractor logo now appears on the packs of nearly £5 billion of British Food. The mark indicates that the food can be traced back to farms producing under an Assured Food Standards (AFS) licence.

The red tractor mark indicates compliance with specific food assurance schemes registered with AFS. AFS is the independent organisation set up to manage the Red Tractor mark. Owned by the food chain, AFS represents the interests from each of the key links, including the National Farmers' Union, the Ulster Farmers' Union, the Meat & Livestock Commission, Dairy UK and the British Retail Consortium. Observers include Defra and the Food & Drink Federation. The individual schemes overseen by AFS are:

AFS Sugar Beet Standards
Assured British Meat
Assured British Pigs
Assured Chicken Production
Assured Combinable Crops (covering cereals, oilseeds and protein crops)
Assured Produce (covering fruit, salad and vegetables)
Farm Assured British Beef and Lamb (see also ABM’s leaflet Are you assured?)
Farm Assured Welsh Lamb and Beef
Genesis Quality Assurance Scheme (beef, lamb and combinable crops)
National Dairy Farmers Assurance Scheme (milk)
Northern Irish Beef and Lamb Farm Quality Assurance
Scottish Quality Cereals
Quality Meat Scotland
Quality Standard mark (English beef and lamb)

The standards for cereals, fruit and vegetables cover all aspects of the production process including cultivations, plant health, harvesting and storage, and in the case of cereals, movement off the farm. They also cover good practice in relation to protecting the environment.

The standards for livestock, poultry and dairy production cover all aspects of the production process including animal movements, housing, feed, animal health and welfare, hygiene and food safety; they also make reference to protecting the environment. All livestock schemes cover the Five Freedoms welfare code:

Freedom from hunger and thirst
Freedom from discomfort
Freedom from pain, injury or disease
Freedom from fear or distress
Freedom to perform normal patterns of behaviour

The RSPCA Freedom Food Scheme

The RSPCA’s Freedom Food scheme is an animal-specific assurance scheme covering dairy, laying hens, salmon, beef, pork, lamb and poultry meat (chickens, ducks and turkeys). It is a welfare-focused farm assurance and food labeling scheme.
Freedom Food works with farmers, hauliers, processors and packers to implement the RSPCA species-specific welfare standards. The standards are mandatory, but deliberately practical and achievable for both small and large scale farms.

LEAF (Linking the Environment and Farming)

LEAF Marque gives consumers the assurance that the produce comes from a farm that produces their food in an environmentally responsible way.

It acts as an environmental complement to existing farm and food assurance schemes. LEAF encourages farmers to adopt Integrated Farm Management (IFM) and high environmental standards.

LEAF Marque produce is given a stamp on the packaging of fruit and vegetables which is stocked in all Waitrose stores, Fresh & Wild and other retail outlets including the LEAF Demonstration Farm in Hampshire.

The Soil Association’s organic mark

Soil Association Certification is the UK’s largest organic certification body. All produce is covered: arable, horticulture, livestock and seed. The Soil Association certifies organic farmers, growers, food processors and packers, retailers, caterers, textile producers, health and beauty manufacturers and importers, in the UK and internationally.

The Soil Association charity offers assistance and information if you are considering going organic. As a charity, they can offer some support free of charge.

Certification and Inspections

All assurance schemes are certified by one of the following independent bodies. These bodies decide whether a producer has achieved the relevant standard and a certificate can be issued and are as follows: