About assessments
Red Tractor membership operates on a continuous certification basis. This means that as long as members pay their fees and complete the required assessments and visits, they can maintain assured status for the products they produce, grow, or rear.
Assessments are carried out by assessors working on behalf of one of the four certification bodies contracted by Red Tractor. Their role is to evaluate how the business demonstrates compliance with the required standards.
Some common phrases used during assessments are outlined below.
Routine or surveillance assessment
During this assessment, all Red Tractor standards relevant to the scheme the business is a member of will be reviewed. The assessor will look for objective evidence, such as documented details they can record, to confirm that the business understands and is operating in line with the requirements of the standards.
Revisit
In some cases, where non-conformances have been identified, the certification body will require the assessor to revisit the farm. This follow-up is to gather evidence showing how the business has addressed the issues identified as a non-conformance and can now demonstrate compliance with the standards.
Spot check
If there are ongoing concerns, or if information is provided to Red Tractor or the certification body that raises doubt about a site’s ability to maintain compliance, a spot check may be carried out. This will not assess all standards within the scheme, but instead will focus on specific areas, depending on the issues shared and what is observed on site during the visit.
Cycle
This refers to the maximum interval allowed between routine assessments. For most schemes, this is 12 months, although certification bodies are given a short window either side of this period before an assessment is considered overdue. This flexibility helps ensure assessments can take place at different stages of the production cycle. For schemes operating on an 18-month cycle, this variation in timing is already incorporated into the assessment window.
One advantage of continuous certification is that assurance can be maintained without being dependent on the exact timing of each assessment and leading to certification renewal.
Notice period
Under the protocols followed by certification bodies, there are different requirements regarding the maximum notice period a member should receive before an assessment. In most cases, this is up to 28 days’ notice. However, there are circumstances where assessments may be conducted at short notice (less than 48 hours) or ‘unannounced’ without any prior notice at all, as part of the process.
Assessor assignment
As part of their contractual agreement with Red Tractor, each certification body must be able to support the memberships it manages, including having enough trained staff to carry out the assessment process.
The certification body will allocate your assessment to an assessor who has the relevant knowledge of the scheme standards and appropriate geographic coverage.
Assessor rotation
Within credible certification systems, all bodies must demonstrate consistency in how assessments are carried out and ensure there is no excessive familiarity with a site. To support this, no assessor can be assigned to the same site for more than three routine assessments. On the fourth assessment, a different assessor must be used for the routine visit, after which the original assessor may be reassigned for another cycle if appropriate.
Conflicts of interest
An assessor cannot be assigned to a farm or site where there is any possible conflict of interest, including family connections, previous business dealings, or prior employment relationships.
Portal use
The Red Tractor portal is a secure online system for members to upload and manage documentation and records that demonstrate compliance with Red Tractor standards. Members are encouraged to use the portal to share documents, pictures and information with the assessor prior to the assessment date.
Your assessment is carried out independently of Red Tractor
When an assessor visits your farm, they don’t work for Red Tractor. Your assessor is employed by a separate, accredited certification body – an independent organisation contracted to carry out assessments on Red Tractor’s behalf.
Those certification bodies are themselves held up to a rigorous international standard (ISO 17065), which means they’re regularly checked to ensure their processes are fair, transparent and free from outside influence.
This separation is deliberate and means that no one can be accused of marking their own homework. The person assessing your farm has no stake in the outcome beyond applying the standards fairly – and it’s what gives Red Tractor its credibility with industry, retailers, brands, government and consumers.
Member Portal
