The UK Soil Association will be responding to a Sunday Times newspaper report that 'organic chickens are being bred in conventional flocks, fed chemically treated feed and routinely given vaccinations.

According to the UK Soil Association's press office, a Sunday Times journalist quoted Richie Riggs, a Soil Association licensee, as saying, "It's a sham. The big producers have got the standards altered to
suit them. I don't consider these chickens organic at all."

Campaign for real organic chicken           Mr Riggs recently launched the Campaign for Real Organic Poultry (CROP) to 'alert consumers to the non-organic practices'.

Robin Maynard, Soil Association communication's director told the Sunday Times that the Soil Association's rules are stricter than the EU regulations and that the association had been lobbying for more rigorous rules for organic production.

According to the Times story, many big poultry producers are using other certifying bodies, such as
Organic Farmers and Growers, which generally has less exacting rules than the Soil Association and allows larger flock sizes.