Soil Association delivers independent Standards Board

The Soil Association today announced the appointment of Rob Haward, operations director at Riverford Organic Vegetables, as grower representative on its standards board, following an open recruitment process. This appointment completes the Soil Association’s new, independent standards board.

Rob Haward, operations director of Riverford Organic Vegetables, said “I am delighted to have been appointed. I hope my input will be of value to the Soil Association in enabling them to continue to lead the way on standards development. This process is essential in order to protect consumers, while balancing the technical constraints of growers.”

The Soil Association Standards Board is responsible for maintaining and developing all of the Association’s organic standards. Current issues under consideration include:

• airfreight and the possibility of linking this with ethical trade (to ensure airfreight really does benefit African, and other, farmers);
• the Soil Association’s response to the confusion likely to be caused by the new mandatory EU logo;
• the development of specific standards for glasshouse production;
• the creation of common international standards for health and beauty products.

Anna Bradley, chair of the Soil Association Standards Board, said “I welcome Rob to the standards board. With the new standards board complete, I hope all our stakeholders will be confident that their interests will be understood at the standards board table. We can now develop the Soil Association standards with the vigour, transparency and accountability expected of such an organisation and its public interest responsibilities.”