Organic salmon certifier bids to appeal ruling that 'poses risk to charitable work'
Information requests are Defra's job, not ours, says Soil Association Certification
Organic salmon farming accreditation body Soil Association Certification is seeking to appeal a tribunal ruling that it says poses a risk to organic certification.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) tribunal ruled last month that Soil Association Certification should be regarded as a public body and should handle requests made under Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs).
The ICO ruling followed what Soil Association Certification says was an administrative error by the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) during its dealings with anti-fish farming group WildFish.
Inspection reports
WildFish had asked Soil Association Certification to access inspection reports of certified organic salmon operations. The request was forwarded to Defra, which had dealt with such requests previously.
It was at this stage that Defra allegedly made an error.
"Instead of determining the information that should be released, as it always had done under the terms of its contract with Soil Association Certification and other certification bodies, Defra refused the request," Soil Association Certification said in a press release.
"The refusal was made on the grounds that it did not hold the data required, which is not correct as it does have access to the data and has responded to many cases previously. This has led to an ongoing dispute over who is responsible."
Request to appeal
Soil Association Certification said it has this week submitted a request to appeal against the tribunal ruling.
Its case continues to be that Defra should determine EIRs, with control bodies releasing information as and when requested, as, unlike government departments, certification bodies do not have the legal or financial resource, and this poses a risk to the organisation and the wider organic sector.
As a non-profit organisation, we do not have the resource or expertise to deal with information requests ... responding directly will lead to ongoing legal fees, and that poses a risk to the success of our organisation’s charitable work, and to the wider organic standard
Soil Association Certification chief executive Dominic Robinson said: “Transparency is at the heart of all we do. We are proud of the role that we play in holding producers to account to meet organic standards. Our dispute is not with WildFish over the release of information – we support the public’s right to information, in line with the regulations. We are more than happy to provide Defra with those reports so they can deal with the information request, as we have done for countless other requests over the years.
“But as a non-profit organisation, we do not have the resource or expertise to deal with information requests, which require expert knowledge of the regulations. To increase and upskill our workforce would incur significant cost and responding to these requests directly will lead to ongoing legal fees, and that poses a risk to the success of our organisation’s charitable work, and to the wider organic standard.
Work in jeopardy
“The organic sector is doing tremendous work to deliver the highest environmental and welfare standards in the UK, and this could be jeopardised if this responsibility is unfairly placed on control bodies. We owe it to every person, landscape and animal that benefits from our work to fight to ensure that Defra continues to deal with information requests, as they are equipped to do so and always have done. That is what our appeal has always been about. We have never sought to withhold information, as has been wrongfully suggested by some.”
Soil Association Certification said that as part of the recent tribunal, the other UK organic control bodies signed a letter to support its position that EIRs should be processed by Defra, with concern for the impact a change would have on the sector.
It added that during the last year it has responded promptly to Defra on several EIRs requests, which involved the sharing of inspection reports, amongst other documents.
Salmon standards review
Separately to the legal dispute, the charity-side of the Soil Association is reviewing its involvement with setting higher standards for organic salmon.
This process has involved extensive research experts on aquaculture, animal welfare and environmental issues, including meetings with WildFish which has been engaged throughout the process.
Currently, organic salmon provides consumers with a choice to buy salmon from farms with lower stocking densities, where the most harmful and polluting medicines are banned, and where feed must come from certified sustainable sources.
But the Soil Association is seeking to reform and improve its standards, and a series of proposals are open to public consultation until Sunday, March 15.
To respond to the consultation or for updates on the ongoing review process, visit: www.soilassociation.org/salmonreview
