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With the Red Tractor Assurance Scheme confirming last week that it intends to strengthen its farm inspection programme, the implications are potentially significant for NI farmers.
The move follows on from a high-profile failure in standards at an English Red Tractor-assured pig farm earlier this year, exposed by The Times newspaper in association with a vegan pressure group.
Inspections
To improve the integrity of the Red Tractor scheme, Red Tractor Assurance CEO Jim Moseley last week confirmed his organisation’s intention to introduce a tougher inspection regime, to include the prospect of unannounced inspections.
While the exact details are yet to be fully worked out, the Irish Farmers Journal understands that the new regime will initially be trialled in the Red Tractor pork scheme, followed by poultry and dairy, and to be fully rolled out in 2019.
According to Red Tractor Assurance, the objective is that every Red Tractor member adheres to every standard every day. Failure to do so risks expulsion from the scheme.
“Increasing confidence in Red Tractor and the entire UK food industry is vital, particularly as we approach Brexit,” commented Moseley last week.
At present, a farmer is given advanced warning of a routine inspection. Where a non-conformance is found, they are usually required to submit evidence to prove it has been corrected within one month.
That will still be the case, but those who have non-conformances at a routine inspection will now run the risk of a follow-up visit.
The chances of receiving this follow-up inspection will probably depend on the nature of the original non-conformance, with more weight given to requirements relating to food safety and animal welfare.
However, the inspection will not just check issues related to the original problem area – it is understood that it will be a full inspection across the entire assurance standard.
In terms of the NI beef and lamb farm quality assurance scheme (FQAS), it belongs to the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC), not Red Tractor Assurance.
LMC chief executive Ian Stevenson confirmed that it is likely to follow the lead set by Red Tractor Assurance.
“We have an equivalence agreement, which means we can carry the Red Tractor logo on our beef and lamb. While the schemes are not exactly the same, the core principals and demands are the same. We always tend to follow suit,” he acknowledged.
However, he also raised concern at the fact that the majority of members of FQAS are part-time farmers, who will simply not be available at the time of an unannounced visit.
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