Environmental actions and animal health and welfare practices could potentially be included in farm audits as part of a revamp of Bord Bia’s quality assurance (QA) schemes.

Pilot audits which include checks of the criteria which may be included in the updated QA standard will be completed on dairy, sheep and beef farms by the end of September, Bord Bia confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal.

Feedback from the pilot audits will be assessed by a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) before the final standard is prepared for agreement, a Bord Bia spokesperson said.

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“The pilot audits include new criteria that are required by legislation but weren’t previously audited. Other draft criteria reflect best practices in areas like environmental actions and animal health and welfare,” the spokesperson explained.

“The draft criteria and pilot audit feedback will need to be fully agreed by the TACs before any changes to the audit process takes place,” she added.

“Until the pilot audits are finished and the final criteria are agreed, we can’t give detail about the exact criteria,” the Bord Bia spokesperson maintained. Although Bord Bia insisted that the new standard aimed “to streamline the audit process”, sector specific criteria will remain in place.

However, in a significant shift with the past, not all criteria will be assessed during every audit.

“Instead, areas that were previously compliant and some core criteria will carry through to the next audit and will only be rescored if there is evidence of non-compliance,” the spokesperson said.

Farmers will also be informed “well in advance” if their next audit will include the proposed new and updated criteria, Bord Bia claimed.

“Bord Bia will have plenty of guidance documents and supports available to keep farmers informed and prepared for the audit under the new standard,” the spokesperson said.

Bord Bia has a range of quality schemes including the Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme and Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme.