Soil Association Certification has submitted an appeal against a ruling earlier this year that found it must directly respond to to requests for environmental information.
The accreditation scheme has argued the Information Commissioner’s Office judgement was made following an administrative error on the part of Defra and cautioned it “poses a risk to the organisation and the wider organic sector”.
A first-tier tribunal had backed the judgement and found in January the organisation should be regarded as a public body, and therefore should handle requests made under Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs). This followed a request by animal welfare charity Wildfish to access inspection documents relating to Scottish salmon farms certified as organic in May 2024.
However, the organisation said Defra should determine EIRs, with control bodies releasing information as and when requested, due to certification bodies possessing insufficient legal and financial resources.
“Transparency is at the heart of all we do. We are proud of the role we play in holding producers to account to meet organic standards,” said Soil Association Certification CEO Dominic Robinson. “Our dispute is not with Wildfish over the release of information – we support the public’s right to information, in line with the regulations.
“We are more than happy to provide Defra with those reports so they can deal with the information request, as we have done for countless other requests over the years.”
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The organisation said it had responded to Defra on several EIRs requests over the past year, which involved the sharing of inspection reports, amongst other documents.
Robinson added: “We owe it to every person, landscape and animal that benefits from our work to fight to ensure Defra continues to deal with information requests, as they are equipped to do so and always have done.
“That is what our appeal has always been about. We have never sought to withhold information, as has been wrongfully suggested by some.”
Wildfish said the judgement, made after a two-day hearing, “was very clear on the issue” and that the certifcation body was performing the functions of a public body, because it has been delegated to carry out the statutory certification of salmon farms as “organic”.
Justin Neal, a solicitor at the charity, noted none of the records they had requested had been disclosed as of yet.
“Any attempt by the certifying company to blame Defra is a distraction from the key issue: that Soil Association Certification itself should be providing the information,” Neal said. “It is notable that Defra has provided some high-level figures in relation to our initial request to Soil Association Certification but not the inspection records themselves, which we would expect to include details of pesticide use and the levels of lice infestations affecting those certified salmon farms.
“Soil Association Certification has chosen to certify salmon farms as organic. It should therefore understand that this commitment comes with responsibilities to the public and to the environment.”
Review of organic salmon
The Soil Association warned last year it could withdraw from the salmon sector if no meaningful progress was delivered by summer 2026.
It said the process has involved extensive research experts on aquaculture, animal welfare and environmental issues, including meetings with Wildfish.
At present, the organisation said organic salmon provides consumers with a choice to buy salmon from farms with lower stocking densities, where the most harmful and polluting medicines are banned, and where feed must come from certified sustainable sources.
It said it was seeking to reform and improve its standards, and a series of proposals are open to public consultation until 15 March.
Defra was approached for comment.
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