CMi gets UKAS for LEAF

UK certification body CMi has earned accreditation with the UK Accreditation Service for the Linking the Environment and Farming (LEAF) marque standard.

CMi has conducted audits against the standard since its inception, but LEAF was not accredited until now.

Julian Bott, international produce manager at CMi, told FPJ that accreditation is a major step forward for CMi, as the popularity of the LEAF marque grows with consumers both in the UK and internationally.

“With our existing network of offices worldwide we are well placed with international schemes such as EurepGAP and others to carry out all audits at the same time,” said Bott. “In other words it will take just one assessor to carry out the whole farm audit covering all the enterprises.”

“Whether it is a produce site, or beef and lamb or chicken enterprise it will mean considerable savings of time and money for these farmers and growers, which is great news for the industry,” he said, adding that composite auditing can also be carried out higher up the food chain on the processing and retailer side, such as for the BRC and IFS schemes, which CMi also certifies.

The LEAF marque appears on packaging in Waitrose and a host of farm shops and other retailers such as Fresh & Wild nation-wide. Talks are also ongoing between LEAF and other major multiples.

Completing a LEAF audit not only has a reputation of improving the efficiency of farm businesses now also earns up to nine points towards a farm’s entry level scheme (ELS) application in England or three points towards a rural stewardship scheme application in Scotland.