About Organic Farmers & Growers Ltd (OF&G)

Organic Farmers & Growers Ltd is one of a number of control bodies accredited by the UK Government’s Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and is approved to inspect organic production and processing in the UK.

In addition, OF&G works with the Association for Organics Recycling (AfOR) and Renewable Energy Assurance Ltd (REAL) on the inspection and certification of compost and biofertiliser (from anaerobic digestion) respectively.

OF&G has its national headquarters in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, and operates across Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

We take a very practical view of organic production and processing as an increasingly important part of the UK’s farming business. We believe there is no higher organic standard in the UK than OF&Gs’ and we are rigorous in applying those standards, to ensure trust in the organic sector.

Each licensee is assigned a Certification Officer as their main point of contact, to provide consistency in their relationship with us.

As a Defra-approved control body OF&G has established its own Organic Assurance Scheme and is able to inspect and certify the following types of operations:

• Arable and livestock farms and horticultural units, both those entering conversion and fully converted organic units;
• On farm processing;
• Food processors, abattoirs, wholesalers and retailers;
• Importers of organic products from EU member states and third countries;
• Animal feed compounders;
• Other operations that involve non-organic products, which are approved for use in organic production, such as approved fertilisers and composts;
• Non-food products such as organic textiles and cosmetic and bodycare products;
• Storage and warehousing operations.

EN45011 & ISO65

The EU Organic Regulation requires that all approved control bodies inspecting and certifying organic products must operate to EN45011 or its international equivalent, ISO65. This European Norm or International Standard has established ‘Criteria for Bodies Operating Product Certification’ and specifies the procedures by which they must operate.

OF&G is fully accredited with the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to EN45011 and is audited annually by both UKAS and Defra to confirm equivalence with the standard and the organic regulations.

OF&G – The Practical Organisation for Organic Certification

Working within the UK and EU Regulations, OF&G prides itself on adopting a practical and realistic approach to organic production and the implementation of the regulations – an approach which has attracted many of the more commercially minded and hands-on producers to its ranks.

Operators registered with OF&G enjoy the following benefits:

• Unsurpassed organic standards
• Defra-approved certification
• Access to industry-experienced certification staff to guide you through the steps of the certification procedures and the regulations
• Updated standards, technical leaflets and pro forma record keeping sheets
• A regular newsletter, which keeps members informed on changing certification issues within OF&G and the organic sector as a whole
• The use of the OF&G logo to identify the products as organic should you so wish (this is not compulsory)
• Profiles of licensees’ businesses on the OF&G website and highlighting of individual successes in the regular newsletter.

Registering with OF&G

Becoming certified as organic is often mistakenly considered to be a complex process. We work hard to dispel this notion. There are steps which must be taken to comply with the EU organic regulations, but with guidance on the requirements from our experienced certification team, there is nothing to stop any well-run business from getting its organic certificate.

Simply contact us to request an application pack, which describes the simple steps to get you started. Once we have received your application, our team will be in touch to ensure an efficient move to your organic status.

For those in the food processing sector, we have produced a thorough and high quality publication called the Guide to Organic Certification: Food Processing, which is freely available to anyone considering entering organics (and a handy memory aid for those already in it!).

Further Information

For advice about certification and information packs for farmers and growers click here to contact OF&G’s certification office in Shrewsbury, Shropshire.