Soil Association decision on organic produce criticised

The Soil Association has come under fire from the Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC) following its decision not to implement the mandatory certification of organic produce transported by air.

It originally put forth a suggestion that all organic vegetables being transported by air would be subject to paperwork and scrutiny on the behalf of farmers, reported Freshinfo.com.

Chief executive of the FPC Nigel Jenney stated: "It appears that the Soil Association has finally taken on board concerns we raised a year ago regarding the lack of real data."

However, he said he was disappointed that the decision from the Soil Association took 18 months to make.

Mr Jenney stated that going ahead with the proposals would have presented problems for farmers operating in regions such as Africa, who need "fast access to European markets".

In other industrial soil-related news, the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture plans to take soil samples from 42 different nations to devise a soil map of Africa, the BBC reported yesterday.