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How the Red Tractor Assurance Scheme works

The Red Tractor Assurance Scheme exists to certify and signify the conformance by each of its members to a series of integrated standards that apply to different farming enterprises and different steps in the food supply chain.

As a business operating in the farming or food supply industry, you can apply to join the Scheme for a single farming enterprise or food supply chain activity or whatever combination of enterprises or activities fits your business needs.

How to join the Scheme

To become and remain a member, you must at all times conform to the standards and the membership rules (as they may both be amended by RTA from time to time).

To join the Scheme, you should contact any one of the Certification Bodies who are independent contractors, licensed by RTA to manage membership (although, for dairy farms, your first purchaser of milk will choose a Certification Body and arrange your application or transfers, as appropriate).

You will find all the enterprises and activities that the Scheme covers, and the Certification Bodies listed on the back page of this booklet. You can apply to join at any time throughout the year and your membership must be renewed annually.

You will need to enter a contract directly with your chosen Certification Body and that contract will (in addition to these Rules) govern the terms on which your Certification Body will manage your initial application, assessment and certification against the standards and your annual renewal.

The Certification Body will also be your routine point of contact.

Before applying, you are advised to carefully read the membership rules and the standards which set out what you have to do and how you will be assessed. If you operate more than one farming enterprise or food supply chain activity, you can select which of these you want to be assessed and certified. If applying for more than one, your Certification Body may apply a discount and will co-ordinate the assessment together in a single visit where possible. Alternatively, you can choose more than one Certification Body for the different enterprises or activities and the assessments will be carried out separately.

You may change your Certification Body at any time and still maintain ‘Red Tractor Assured’ status as long as you have no outstanding non-conformances or obligations. If you are not satisfied with the way your application, assessment or certification decision has been conducted, you may lodge an appeal in writing with your Certification Body within such time period as your Certification Body may stipulate from time to time. All appeals will be investigated and dealt with in accordance with the Certification Body’s appeal procedure or, if so directed, RTA’s appeal procedure.

1. Application

Send application and fee to your chosen Certification Body detailing all the relevant holdings/premises.

Receipt will be acknowledged in 14 days and the assessment will be arranged.

2. Initial Assessment

The assessor will talk to you about your business as you walk together around (or facilitate remote viewing via video-streaming of) the facilities, look at the livestock/crop as applicable and check your paperwork.

They will need to talk to your staff too about what they do.

Any areas which do not meet the Standards (which we refer to as “non-conformances”) will be highlighted to you throughout the assessment. They are not allowed to advise on, or suggest, how you need to correct things.

You will be left or sent a report which will contain details of any non-conformances, an indication of the evidence you will be expected to provide (e.g. invoices, photos, photocopies, letter from vet) and the timescales for action.

3. Non-Conformances

You must supply your Certification Body with evidence that you have corrected everything as explained in the non-conformance report.

In some cases, a re-visit may be required and this may incur a charge. Your application will lapse if you do not correct everything satisfactorily and in good time.

4. Issue Certificate of Conformity

Once satisfactory evidence has been provided, you will be entered as ‘Assured’ on the Scheme Member Checker database and you can then sell your product(s) as ‘Assured’.

You may receive an actual certificate in electronic format or printed but the status on the Scheme Member Checker database is definitive.

5. Renewal

You will be invited to renew your membership annually, 12 months after the initial assessment and every 12 months thereafter.

You will receive a renewal notice and a maximum of two reminder letters.

6. Routine Assessments and Spot Checks

An assessor will make regular visits (or carry out remote assessments) similar to your initial assessment to check you are continuing to conform to the Standards at all times.

These assessments will normally be once per membership year with the exception of the RTA dairy and beef and lamb farm schemes which will be once every 18 months.

You may also be subject to spot check visits, some of which may be unannounced as part of our risk based approach to inspections.

If you do not conform to any Standards you must provide evidence, normally within 28 days, that you have rectified them as outlined at Steps 2 and 3 above. If you have a major non-conformance or excessive non-conformances against the Standards, your certification may be suspended until you have shown you have put this right. (Assessment arrangements for meat and poultry processing, livestock transport, livestock markets and livestock collection centres are outlined in the online standards manual.)

Suspension

Your membership and certification can also be suspended if you have not put non-conformances right within the time stipulated or if an unannounced spot check as a result of our risk based approach to inspections shows no improvement and the member is still categorised as high risk.

Suspension is only lifted once you have proved that you have corrected the non-conformances. In some cases, a re-visit may be required.

You must not sell products as ‘Red Tractor Assured’ whilst your certification is suspended.

Withdrawal

If within 3 months of the suspension date you have not demonstrated that you have corrected the non-conformances, the Certification Body will withdraw certification and your membership will automatically close..

The Certification Body will also withdraw certification and your membership will automatically be revoked. if you are still categorised as high risk following two consecutive unannounced spot checks as a result of our risk based approach to inspections.

You can only regain certification by following the procedure for a new applicant and as long as no other sanctions or non-conformances remain.

Your right to sell products as ‘Red Tractor Assured’ will cease immediately if your certification is withdrawn or if your membership is revoked for any other reason or expires and is not renewed within one month of expiry in accordance with the membership rules.