www.soilassociation.org/Businesses/Marketingsupport/Advertisingclaims/tabid
/109/Default.aspx
Advertising claims
The following claims have been reviewed as appropriate for use by the Committee for Advertising
Practice (CAP) for marketing organic products. These claims and statements can be used in
advertising, on literature and as part of on-pack sales promotions. CAP have advised that these
statements should be acceptable under the British Code of Advertising.
To help promote a consistent message on the benefits that organic delivers, we would encourage you
to make use of these quotes. We would however, strongly advise that all advertising and promotional
copy is cleared in its entirety with the CAP before use.
Guidelines for use
The statements below must be used in full in the exact form in which they appear below. If you want to
summarise or make other use of these claims, please contact the CAP for advice. The CAP has drawn
up guidelines for organic advertising claims and has a 24-hour-turnaround copy-checking service: call
020 7492 2100 or email copyadvice@cap.org.uk
Although these statements have been checked by the CAP, it is the the Advertising Standards
Authority's (ASA) remit to review any evidence relating to complaints and either reject or uphold the
complaint itself. The ASA may overrule copy advice from the CAP.
The ASA’s adjudication of complaints examines the context in which this material is used, as well as
the robustness of the material itself.
Claims made on packaging (excluding claims within copy about promotional offers - see above) fall
under the remit of Trading Standards authorities and not with ASA or CAP. Like CAP, Trading
Standards offer a copy-checking service
Statements approved as March 2009
What is organic?

Organic farming reduces environmental pollution and the release of greenhouse gases from
food production by severely restricting the use of artificial chemical fertilisers and pesticides.
Instead, organic farmers rely on developing a healthy, fertile soil and growing a mixture of
crops.
In addition, no system of farming has higher animal welfare standards than farms working to Soil
Association organic standards. Animals are reared without the routine use of drugs, antibiotics or
wormers, animal feed is GM-free and poultry is always free-range. Organic standards also prohibit GM
crops and ingredients, hydrogenated fats and controversial additives like aspartame, tartrazine and
MSG.
Five reasons to choose organic?



Knowing what's in your food - Hydrogenated fats and controversial additives including
aspartame, tartrazine, MSG are banned under organic standards
For the environment - Organic farming releases less greenhouse gases than non-organic
farming - choosing organic, local and seasonal food can significantly reduce your carbon
footprint
For animal welfare - Organic standards insist that animals are given plenty of space and fresh
air to thrive and grow - guaranteeing a truly free-range life


For wildlife - Organic farms and havens for wildlife and provide homes for bees, birds and
butterflies. In fact, the UK Government’s own advisors found that plant, insect and bird life is
up to 50% greater on organic farms.
GM-free diet - Genetically modified crops and ingredients are banned under organic standards
Nutrition










Nutrient rich
Avoids all controversial additives
No controversial additives
No hydrogenated fats
No aspartame
No tartrazine
No MSG
No GM
No manufactured nanoparticles
No food has higher amounts of beneficial minerals, essential amino acids and vitamins than
organic food
Additives

Only 36 of the 314 food additives approved for use across the EU are permitted in organic
food. Amongst the additives banned by the Soil Association are hydrogenated fat, aspartame
(artificial sweetener) and monosodium glutamate. Generally, permitted additives are derived
from natural sources such as citric acid from lemons.
Pesticides


The best way of reducing your exposure to potentially harmful pesticides is to eat organically
grown food, where their use is avoided. Over 311 pesticides can be routinely used in non
organic farming and residues are often present in non-organic food. Over 40% of all nonorganic fruit, vegetables and bread tested in 2005 contained pesticides according to the
Government's Pesticide Residues Committee. The results for particular fruit and vegetables
were much worse, e.g. pesticides were found in all oranges tested, 90% of bread, 72% of
grapes, 95% pears.
Soil Association standards ban the routine use of antibiotics in animal food. Some experts
believe
that antibiotic additives routinely used in non-organic farming to speed animal growth are
linked
with bacterial resistance in humans to the same or closely related antibiotics.
Environment













Encourages diverse farming landscapes
Organic farming reduces pollution from almost all pesticides and chemical fertilisers
Champions sustainable, environmental principles
Organic farming releases fewer CO2 emissions overall than non-organic farming
Organic, local and seasonal food is friendlier to the climate
Organic farming bans fertilisers manufactured from fossil fuels
Organic farming bans fertilisers manufactured releasing nitrous oxide greenhouse gases
Less pollution from sprays
Fewer dangerous wastes
Organic farmers rely on developing a healthy, fertile soil and growing a mixture of crops.
Avoids almost all pesticides
Strict standards for environmental conservation and water use.
Organic farming severely restricts the use of artificial chemical fertilisers and pesticides.


Organic farmers use natural methods to fertilise their soil such as composting and planting
clover to fix nitrogen naturally from the air.
Typically, UK organic farming uses 26% less energy per tonne of food produced. This is
mainly due to the non-use of fertilisers which are the largest source of carbon dioxide
emissions in agriculture and the single largest source of nitrous oxide in the world – a gas over
300 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
Animal welfare











High animal welfare
Free-range (For use in reference to organic poultry)
Animals reared organically are encouraged to forage and graze
Bans routine use of antibiotics
No animal welfare standards are higher
Chickens are truly free range. They live in smaller flocks, have better access to fresh grass
and air and more space in their houses than non-organic chickens. Chickens must not be
beak-tipped allowing natural behaviour like scratching in the dust for food.
Pigs must be free range and allowed to forage without painful nose rings.
Animals are reared without the routine use of drugs, antibiotics and wormers common in
intensive livestock farming
Animals are raised in conditions that suit their natural behaviour and are fed an organic diet
No other system of farming has higher animal welfare standards. Organic systems are freerange where standards have been set, and encourage the animals’ natural behaviour.
Organically reared animals are fed a more natural, organic and GM-free diet
No system of farming has higher levels of animal welfare standards than organic farms
working to Soil Association standards. Compassion in World Farming believes the “Soil
Association's welfare standards are leaders in the field”. (Joyce d'Silva, Director, Compassion
in World Farming.)
Wildlife








Encourages wildlife
Builds soil fertility naturally using compost and clover
Champions biodiversity
Organic means working with nature, not against it.
Soil Association organic avoids most chemical sprays, promotes biodiversity, respects high
animal welfare, guarantees free-range, and bans technologies such as GM and
nanotechnology.
Organic production aims to use methods as close to nature as possible to maintain a healthy
living soil and positive plant and animal health. Free range systems encourage healthy
animals avoiding the need for routine antibiotics. Natural, sustainable soil fertility is cultivated
through composting and crop rotation rather than synthetic fertilisers
Food produced organically encourages more wildlife and generally releases fewer greenhouse
gas emissions than food produced conventionally.
Overall, organic farming supports more farmland wildlife than non-organic farming because of
the way land is managed and treated. In non-organic farming, around 31,000 tonnes of
chemicals are used each year in the UK to kill weeds, insects and other pests that attack
crops. Organic farming uses mainly natural methods, developing a good soil and healthy
crops which have stronger natural resistance to pests and diseases, and encourage natural
predators to avoid the need for almost all pesticides. The UK government has said that
organic farming is better for wildlife, causes lower pollution from sprays, produces less carbon
dioxide and fewer dangerous wastes.
Evidence to support statements regarding wildlife and the
environment

In its Organic Action Plan, the Government has stated that: “Organic farming and food offer
real benefits for the environment”. Also, “On the basis of comparing average conventional and
organic farms, organic farming is generally accepted to produce the following environmental
benefits:
o
o
o
o
higher levels of biodiversity;
lower environmental pollution from pesticides
through lower use of energy inputs it contributes to reduction of carbon dioxide
emission
because of reduced reliance on external materials it produces smaller quantities of
controlled waste and so contributes to waste reduction.”
GM
o
o
GM-free
Genetically modified (GM) crops and ingredients are banned under organic standards.
Over a million tonnes of GM crops are imported to feed non-organic livestock that
produce much, if not most, of the non organic pork, bacon, milk cheese and other
dairy products in our supermarkets. [Evidence: ‘Silent Invasion – The hidden use of
GM crops in livestock feed. Soil Association report November 2007]
Standards
o
o
High standards
Organic food comes from trusted sources. All organic farms and food companies are
inspected at least once a year. The standards for organic food are laid down in
European law, and many of these are exceeded by the Soil Association’s stricter
standards.
Marketing resources - Soil
Association
Beyond the most committed organic consumers, understanding of organic is still low - which
can lead to trading down especially during hard times. To raise public awareness and
understanding we are working with businesses of all scales to drive forward the promotion of
organic benefits.
We've developed some useful resources to help you communicate these benefits to your
customers.
Key messages
o
o
o
Five good reasons to choose organic
Approved advertising messages
Top ten ways to go organic on a budget