Frequently asked questions

A producer specific abattoir is an abattoir that is approved on behalf of Organic Trust licencees and does not have a licence of their own. If you are a farmer and wish to use a local abattoir to slaughter your animals and sell prepacked organic meat products to the public, you can add the producer specific abattoir to your licence. The abattoir would require an annual inspection. Please contact Organic Trust for further information and requisite documentation.

Some abattoirs have their own licence. Their inspections would be independent of the producer/farmer inspection and the certification would be held in their own name. You should contact the Organic Trust if you plan to use an abattoir that has a licence. Abattoirs with a licence of their own are permitted to sell loose meat products.

For any further information please contact Organic Trust on 045 882377

If you wish to sell products as organic you must have an Organic Certificate from an Organic Body like The Organic Trust.

Organic food and farming regulations are set out by the EU & any product sold as ‘organic’ in Ireland must comply with a set of production and processing standards. The standards are in place to ensure the highest levels of animal welfare, protecting human and animal health, and safeguarding the environment. You can find out more about the Organic Standards here click

We can help you navigate these requirements and provide your Organic Licence to enable you to sell your products with The Organic Trust logo.

The following operations are subject to the certification process:

• On-farm production including livestock, cereals, tillage and horticulture
• On-farm processing including buying in for resale
• Animal feeds production
• Processing of organic food produce
• Storing and distributing of Organic products
• Re-labelling of products at any stage of the distribution chain
• Selling of pre-packed or loose Organic Products to enterprises that are not end users
• Retailing or selling loose organic products direct to the end user
• Trading an organic product from supplier to customer
• Importing Organic Products from outside of Ireland
• Commissioning the production of organic product in your name/brand name
• Recertify a product that already carries a licence by another EU recognised certification body
• Grow Organic Microgreens or germinated sprout grains
• Organic Poultry Production
• Slaughter/butchery or processing of organic meat products
• Organic aquaculture production site and processing of produce
• Organic mushrooms production
• Some products currently outside the EU Organic Regulations such as Fertilisers, Soil conditioners, Compost materials, Pet Food, Salt etc. can be certified under our private standards
• Health and beauty products made with certified organic ingredients

Extension to holding is an addition of land to your existing licenced land area. You can add non-organic and/or organic land through the relevant documentation. The additional land can be leased or purchased. It has to go through a conversion period of 1 or 2 years depending on the land use and enterprises on it. Requisite documentation provided by Organic Trust must be completed prior to any commencement.

For further information contact Organic Trust on 045 882377

When you enter Organic farming you begin a conversion period. The conversion period is the time frame between making your application to Organic Trust and receiving your full symbol certificate. Upon receipt of your application and conversion plan, an Organic Trust inspector will carry out your initial inspection. Once your application has been approved an in-conversion licence would be granted and your conversion period begins.

Normally the conversion is a two year period which gives time for the land to adjust to organic methods. Most arable, horticulture and grass based farms would go through this two year period. Horticulture, pig and poultry units may qualify for a reduced conversion of 12 months. This would need to be approved by Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

During the conversion period, you must manage the holding in accordance with the Organic Standards regarding animal welfare, land management and fertility building. You cannot sell your produce as organic until the end of the conversion period. Once the required conversion period is complete and you successfully receive your full organic symbol the farmer can sell his/her produce as organic using the Organic Trust Logo.

You are not required to convert all land on a holding. If you choose to convert only part of your holding there would need to be clear segregation between the organic and non-organic land and business. Stock proof fences or hedges could serve this purpose. Separate accounts and record keeping would be required.