Since January 2007 we have more than doubled our range of organic products, with food, household, health and beauty products now on sale. The words ‘certified organic’ on fresh produce mean the item has been grown according to strict standards that maintain and replenish soil fertility without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides or fertilizers.

The European regulations behind this also apply to processing methods and the ingredients in organic foods, and — because all suppliers must undergo rigorous testing — they guarantee the absence of artificial substances in our products.

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Our definition of non-GM is something which has been produced under strictly monitored guidelines, applied at every stage – from the field to the finished product to ensure that the risk of inadvertent contamination is minimised.

We’re open to GM technologies, but the benefits to the end consumer need to be clearly demonstrated in terms of, for instance, food security, better use of land, improvements in health, or lowering the cost of living.

This policy applies to human foods. We recognise that for some customers there are concerns over the feeding of GM derived materials to livestock. For customers wishing to avoid such animal derived products Asda stocks a wide range of organic foods that specifically prohibit the feeding of GM materials

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The quality and safety of our food is extremely important to us. That’s why we ensure that all of our suppliers have undergone a strict audit.

We have 1200 suppliers each of which are visited at least annually by a third party inspection body who are highly qualified in food safety. Any suppliers that don’t meet our stringent guidelines will not feature on our shelves.

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We are working to ensure all of our fresh produce is grown in the most sustainable way possible. As a corporate sponsor of LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming), we are working with the organisation to reduce the use of chemical pesticides.

We are also working with a number of our suppliers to develop ways that pests can be kept under control in a natural way — for example, using ladybirds to combat the spread of aphids on cabbage crops.

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At ASDA we see the farmers we work with as partners rather than just suppliers. We strive to forge closer working relationships with all of them, ensuring the best deal for them, fair treatment for their stock and ultimately the high quality of the end product.

We actively support the National Union of Farmers’ Red Tractor scheme to promote animal welfare. We are also leading the way with our suppliers to find innovative ways to improve animal welfare – such as our scheme which uses bovine activity meters to help farmers monitor the health of their herds.

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