Organic production in the UK is regulated under the Compendium of UK Organic Standards.
No herbicides are permitted in organic farming.
The use of pesticides is restricted in organic production both in the number of products available and the uses to which they may be put. Organic farmers are encouraged to use management techniques such as rotation, use of appropriate species and protection of natural predators of specific pests. In some exceptional cases, it is recognised that further treatment is needed. In such cases, only those products listed in Annex IIB of the Compendium of UK Organic Standards can be used, subject to the conditions set out therein. I have arranged for copies of the Annex to be placed in the Libraries of the House. Any pesticide used by organic producers in the UK must also have approval from the Pesticides Safety Directorate.
In addition to the standard controls on pesticide and herbicide use, organic producers are subject to the control system outlined in the Compendium of UK Organic Standards.
These include control of the use of external inputs. The Standards are enforced in a number of ways:
(i) By the DEFRA and UK Accreditation Service (UKAS) approved organic inspection body that the farmer must be registered with. The farmer must be subject to at least an annual inspection by a DEFRA approved organic inspector from that body and may also be subject to further unannounced inspection visits. These inspections can (and when appropriate do) include sampling and testing. A positive result for either a non-allowed product, or an allowed product that was either incorrectly used or had not been approved for use as required, would result in the imposition of sanctions ranging from decertification of the product to decertification of the farm dependant on the severity and cause of the case.
(ii) DEFRA organises sample surveillance inspections based on both random and risk based selection to ensure the inspection system is operated correctly by the approved organic inspection bodies.
(iii) The Pesticides Safety Directorate undertakes a residues surveillance programme that includes organic samples, and tests all samples for a wide range of pesticides including some of those allowed in organic production. Any unusual results are passed to the Organic Team in DEFRA who ensure the information is passed to the appropriate inspection body for further investigation.
(iv) Deliberate breaches of standards by organic operators are dealt with under The Organic Products Regulations 2004 (as amended), enforcement is undertaken by Trading Standards Officers.
It should be noted that no herbicides are permitted for use in organic farming, and discovery of their use would result in an automatic sanction.