Many items in the standard are Statutory Legal Requirements laid down by legislation.
Please take the time to read the SBLAS Standard so that you are fully aware of all of the requirements. The following documents need to be available to the inspector during the inspection. (Only if applicable to your type of enterprise).
During your closing meeting with the Inspector, you will be given your Help Desk Facility Nummber and PIN Number access code, to assist with closing out any Non Compliances raised at Inspection time.
Once your closing meeting is complete, you will be asked to sign an Exit Card confirming these Non Compliances (if any) and thanking you for your participation in the scheme.
Once the Inspector finalises the audit, the inspection details go through some further steps before final decision. These are as follows:
Please be aware that this entire process, from application through to final certification can take up to 5 weeks to complete! Just because you have had your inspection, does NOT mean it is the end of the process.
Below, please find links to documents and pages that may help you prepare for your inspection: Click on any one of them to download a PDF that you can print off for reference:
This scheme replaces the old BLQAS Beef and Lamb Quality Assurance Scheme and accounts for 92% of all exported beef from Ireland. The scheme is open to all producers of Cattle and Sheep with a Republic of Ireland Herd / Flock number. It is free to join, but there is some preparatory work to be done, prior to your Inspection by a Bord Bia approved Inspector.
Please look at the REQUIRED DOCUMENTS on the right hand panel for a list of the main documents and records you need for your inspection. (There are others, so consult your Standard for a full list)
The simple reason is that Irelands customers DEMAND it! If we do not put our very best foot forward, we will be driven back to selling our beef as a cheap commodity product, ill thought of and poorly priced. Is this really what anyone wants?
If you want a future for your farm, a decent price for your produce and some hope for the future, this is the only choice available.
Not doing this will virtually GUARANTEE poor prices for you in the future with little or no market available to anyone.
Helping Reduce Audit Times
Your time is precious and we are very conscious of the importance of not wasting your valuable time on farm. Farmers can really help reduce the actual time spent conducting the audit by spending a little time preparing for the audit.
One of the ways you can help reduce time on farm is by filling out the Farm Enterprise Information Survey in advance of your audit. This will cut about 10 to 15 minutes from the audit time, if done correctly.
There are as many different types of farms as there are farmers, so no one size fits all. Some farms will have superbly built, modern and very comprehensive infrastructure, while other farms will comprise only the most basic elements and may not even include housing or other facilities.
In all cases, the infrastructure needs to be sufficient for the type of farming practiced, but basic farm infrastructure can be adequate to pass the Inspection.
In principal, if a farm is neat and tidy, with sufficient facilities to ensure the safety and welfare of both animals and humans and to pose no threat to the environment, there is no reason for any farm to be in-eligible on infrastructure alone.
Take the time to walk your farm and identify and eliminate any obvious safety risks. This is not only good practice from the Inspection point of view, but simply makes sense. Once this has been done, you should formalize this into the Farm Safety Risk Assessment document.
As part of the marketing strategy for Ireland's agricultural production, Bord Bia is trying to promote a green, clean and sustainable image of Ireland as a food producer and it is one which we can largely stand over. It follows that producers must comply with this key element of the producer standard.
During your Farm walk you should also try to identify and eliminate any obvious pollution risks. Here are some obvious pollution hazards that must be avoided.
Burning plastic outdoors is the biggest cause of Dioxin pollution in the atmosphere, so don't do it! Dispose of all plastics, oils, and other waste materials properly
Protecting our environment is in everyone's interest, so do everything you can to encourage good environmental practices on your farm. This can often save you money as well as being good practice while bad environmental practice can have a negative impact on your Inspection