Real Foods and The Soil Association
For years Real Foods has invested in the membership of the Soil Association and in maintaining up-to-date certification, meaning an annual audit of all that we sell under our organic label.
Real Foods certification with The Soil Association is our guarantee for our customers that when they buy a product from our organic range they can do so with confidence.
With all that we hear in the media about the content of processed foods the question of trust in what a food label says is at the forefront of our minds. Real Foods Organic labels all have the Soil Association symbol on them and this is your guarantee that what you are buying is what it says on the label. If it says 'Organic' then it is indeed organic with full traceability.
You can find our license details here on our site
Here's what the Soil Association symbol means:
Organic Standards
The Soil Association has probably the highest and most comprehensive standards for organic production and processing in the world.
Their standards not only meet the UK government's minimum requirements but in many areas are higher.
This is particularly true with animal welfare (for example, poultry) and the use of pesticides and fertilisers.
They have also developed standards for areas not covered by government or EU regulations. Including conservation, fish farming, textiles and health and beauty care products.
Standards are constantly reviewed to keep them up-to-date and to address new issues and developments as they happen.
There is a rigorous and open process to ensure standards remain high, yet attainable.
Certification
Through the not-for-profit business Soil Association Certification Ltd, farms and businesses are inspected and awarded organic certification if the Associations organic standards.
Any product sold as ‘organic’ must comply with strict rules set at UK, European and international levels. These rules (known as standards) assure consumers they are buying genuinely organic products that can be fully traceable back to the farm.
Licensed farms and businesses are inspected at least once each year to check that the standards are being maintained. A number of random spot inspections, which can be unannounced are also carried out. At other times an inspection may be carried out in response to a complaint or concern raised.
With over 36 years' experience, the Association has worked with more businesses than any other certification body - certifying over 4,500 farms and businesses all over the world.
Their experience, knowledge and expertise in all aspects of the organic sector, means the Soil Association symbol is the most recognised organic mark in the UK today.
SA update regarding GMO standards!
Now Sainsbury’s and M&S tear up ‘Frankenfeed’ ban leaving Waitrose going it alone (Soil Association News 16.04.13)
Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s and the Co-op yesterday ended bans on giving ‘Frankenstein Feed’ to farm animals producing meat, milk and eggs. The three retailers were the last of the big food chains to be holding out against the use of controversial GM crops on their farms. The change means that the vast majority of meat, milk and eggs sold by Britain’s supermarkets will come from animals raised on a GM diet. Alarmingly, none of these products will be labelled as coming from GM-fed animals in what critics call a disaster for consumer choice.
Peter Melchett, Policy Director of the Soil Association said: "The idea that there is a shortage of non-GM animal feed is a myth peddled by companies selling GM feed. The fact is that 20 to 25 per cent of Brazilian soybean production is free from genetic modification for the 2012-2013 crop - more than enough to supply the whole of the demand from Europe. China and India soybean production is 100 per cent non-GM."