Brexit has made it more complicated for non-UK companies to sell their organic products in the UK.
The additional legal requirements are as follows:
- A UK address on your labels – this should be of a UK Food Business Operator (FBO). It cannot be a PO Box.
- Organic certification of your product range by a UK certifying body such as the Soil Association
- A physical office in the UK where an annual organic inspection can take place with a human being who can facilitate the inspection
- A UK Importer Of Record (IOR) to take title to the goods at the border and/or a certified First Consignee.
- If you are supplying an importer or wholesaler they too must be organically certified
The fees that the Soil Association charge are here. They generally quote 8-12 weeks from submission of an application to authorising certification (here). Providing you already have a recognised organic certification in your country of origin there should be no need to inspect your production facility.
NB We strongly recommend that you do not attempt to ship product to the UK before completing the UK organic certification process.
We can help you by
- Acting as your FOB address, registered with our local authority
- Facilitating your application to the Soil Association
- Hosting the initial organic inspection at our London office
- Co-ordinating any follow-up actions needed
- Recommending an organically certified warehouse / distributor if you do not have one
- Advising you on label content to achieve compliance with UK labelling regulations
For providing the above services throughout the year a monthly fee is payable – email simon@ofplus.com for more details