The Soil Association is pleased to announce a new Organic Food Service and Catering Code of Practice. It is aimed at restaurants, cafes and other catering establishments that wish to make a commitment to sound practice in offering organic food without applying for full organic certification.

Helen Taylor, Technical Services and Business Development Director for Soil Association Certification Ltd, says: "Our Code of Practice is an excellent way for non-certified businesses to build customer confidence in the organic food they serve and boost their marketing. We still urge caterers to consider our full certification service, but for those for whom this is not viable the Code of Practice offers many benefits at a very reasonable cost."

The Catering Code of Practice has been introduced as a consumer safeguard following the recent European Commission decision that, for the time being, catering falls outside the scope of the EU organic regulation (EEC Reg No 2092/91), which defines how organic food is grown, processed, labelled and marketed. The Commission’s decision means that caterers and foodservice providers wishing to serve organic food are not legally required to be inspected and certified by a UK organic certification body, but the Soil Association believes this could undermine consumer confidence where both organic and non-organic food are served.

By signing up to the Code, caterers will be declaring an 'open book' policy to customers, demonstrating transparency, openness and good practice. They will receive a notice for display to show that they have pledged to follow the requirements of the Code. These include displaying a clear and up-to-date list of all organic ingredients used, and submitting to spot inspections to make sure they are adhering to the terms of the Code.

The fee for registering for the Code of Practice is £75 (+VAT) per year which includes membership of the Soil Association and subscription to Living Earth, the Soil Association's membership magazine.

Registering for the Code does not entitle caterers to display or use the Soil Association logo in marketing materials or on menus. For this right and other benefits full organic certification is needed.

For further information and an application pack please contact the Soil Association Certification Ltd's Business Development Team on 0117 914 2407, or proc.cert@soilassociation.org.

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