Soil Association consults over tougher criteria for 'organic' salmon label

Organic certification body, the Soil Association, has launched a consultation about proposed changes to its standard for Scottish farmed salmon.

Last year the charity, which is the UK’s largest and most recognised certifier of organic produce, warned it would withdraw from the sector if meaningful progress was not delivered by summer 2026.

It has proposed a series of changes to its salmon standard following what it says is extensive research, including consultation with aquaculture experts, and these proposals are now available for anyone with an interest in salmon farming to comment on before the closing date on March 15.

The consultation also seeks views and information on welfare and environmental challenges, to help future changes to standards and its wider review of the sector.

'We can do more'

Soil Association standards director Sarah Compson said: “Our standards have contributed to improvements on Scottish salmon farms for more than 20 years, but we know there is more we can do.

“We have been working closely with aquaculture and welfare experts to help us shape proposals for changes to our standards that have the potential to deliver necessary progress. This consultation will help us to determine how successful these plans might be in achieving the wide-ranging impacts we are seeking, and also help us gather more information on issues that we believe are key to improved welfare and environmental outcomes.”

The charity’s proposals include stricter and more detailed preventative management approaches to reduce the risk of injuries and mortality due to handling, disease, and pests, and a complete ban on the use of the lice treatment deltamethrin in organic farms.

'Unacceptable' mortality

On the issue of fish deaths, the Soil Association says its standards “can go further to ensure that sites are adequately prepared to mitigate the risks of mortality events, including those driven by the novel and unprecedented challenges that climate change is presenting or may yet present”.

The Soil Association is being advised by its Aquaculture Task & Finish Group made up of experts from across the industry including NGO representatives, academics, independent advisors and organic salmon farmers, and says it will work with the group to determine “unacceptable” levels of mortality and the contexts in which unacceptable mortality can be identified.

The group’s members include Michelle Johnson, technical manager of Cooke Scotland, Kate Stronach, sustainability and compliance manager with Mowi Scotland, and Fiona McAuley, quality and assurance manager, of sector trade body Salmon Scotland. Both Cooke Scotland and Mowi Scotland produce organic salmon at some of their marine sites. Mowi’s operation in Ireland is also exclusively organic, but is certified by the Irish Organic Association.

No whole fish

Other targets set by the Soil Association include a phasing out of forage fish in feed.

“Currently, organic producers are required to prioritise ingredients from sustainable sources, with trimming and waste products used in preference to whole fish. But, they can use whole fish caught from sustainably certified fisheries to feed farmed salmon if needed,” it says.

“Within one year we will enhance our standards to give more attention to the hierarchy of feed used in the production stage (in net pens at sea) to prioritise marine ingredients that only come from trimmings or by-products.”

Stricter site selection

The charity also says that its research has led it to conclude “that we need to apply the precautionary principle more rigorously to protect marine environments” and that neither the Scottish Government’s regulatory process nor Soil Association standards are sufficiently reducing risks to sensitive habitats, when applying the precautionary principle.

It proposes to set Soil Association standards that ensure organic sites are not located in areas where they are likely to negatively impact sensitive habitats, such as wild salmon runs or the UK’s maerl habitats.