Q&A

1 INTRODUCTION & GENERAL

The Lion Code does not specify any particular carbon measuring tool, however, it recognises that there are several and some will be more relevant than others. The Lion Code does not specify a target or threshold for the site to achieve, however, all tools will require the recording of inputs and outputs, not only feed and eggs, but also water, electricity, fuel, manure and ultimately the birds themselves. The more accurate the records the better.

Farms under Integrated Pollution Control legislation will already have conditions within their licence but under Defra water and soil guidelines it is a legal requirement to have a Manure Management Plan. This plan applies not only to those applying manure but also places responsibility on those supplying it. Details of the quality, quantity, frequency of distribution and the destination of the manure, including justification through soil sampling if it is applied to land, are all likely to be part of any carbon measuring requirement.

The Lion Code aims to protect and promote the UK egg industry through best practice. The industry is under increasing pressure to demonstrate its environmental and sustainability credentials in the face of consumer and media pressure, not least from egg replacement products. Eggs can already claim to be one the most carbon neutral sources of high-quality protein with a very low environmental impact, but we need to continually provide evidence. The modern consumer is increasing concerned about the environmental impact and sustainability of food products. Food safety and animal welfare are very much considered to be a ‘given’ and have been addressed through the Lion Code.

The Lion Code does not require any specific biodiversity scheme and would not encourage habitats such as open water, however, it is possible to create biodiversity through herbage leys and pollinating nectar species as an example to encourage insects. Also, natural shade (plantations or hedges) that act as enrichment for the birds or encouragement to range and any scheme that helps maintain ground cover would all be acceptable. It is important within a biodiversity plan to ensure any existing habitats are not denuded.

By virtue of every site now being registered on the BEIC portal, every site will receive an automatic electronic update. It is important therefore that site contact details are kept up to date. It is the responsibility of the senior management of the registered site to check for the latest edition of the Code on the portal. Subscribers can also distribute updates to their registered sites if they wish.

An environmental plan should include a plan of the site identifying high risk areas e.g. water courses. The plan should show drainage and containment measures. It should also identify methods and means of all waste disposal, potential pollutants and control measures, measures and means of reducing energy or resource use.

You should not only register formal complaints such as neighbourhood nuisance, but you should also record issues such as yolk colour, flock performance, egg size which may be related to feed.

Currently Defra/DAERA approved laboratories are awaiting the publication of the updated DEFRA ‘Code of Practice for feed manufacture’ before they commit to tendering for business. A BEIC list of laboratories that would be eligible to test will be published shortly, but in the meantime feed compounders should continue to use those laboratories currently listed in the Lion Code.

Yes, even home-grown raw materials must be certified to an assurance scheme such as Red Tractor and recorded on your approved supplier list.

A home mixer can collect a raw material from one of their approved suppliers using their own transport and does not need to be TASCC registered. However, the home mixer would need records to demonstrate that the vehicle had either only carried feed ingredients previously, or that there was a documented cleaning schedule and record for the vehicle.

A home mixer cannot collect a raw material for someone else and cannot ask someone else to collect it for the home mixer without TASCC Registration.

Yes, in theory you can use machinery for different operation, however, before it is used for transport or handling of feed it must be cleaned to TASCC standards. It is also important that the wheels and external parts of the machinery are cleaned whenever the machinery transfers between other operations on the farm and the poultry unit. Any feed carrying part of the vehicle e.g. bucket MUST not be or have been used for carrying any product on the TASCC exclusion list e.g. manure, livestock carcasses, bitumen or scrap metal. There must also be records of cleaning and records of at least the previous 3 loads carried.

Unless water is actually used in the feed or on food contact surfaces then “potable” water, mains or borehole is acceptable. Bore water should be tested annually. Results from other farming operations where water requires testing would be suitable evidence.

It is the responsibility of the feed mill operator to check that ALL suppliers (raw materials, transport, contractors, and service providers) are approved. The BEIC will make available information from AIC as when it receives it and operators should keep abreast of this information.

No. VMD registration is only required for veterinary prescribed medicines and specified feed additives included in the Schedule 5 list.

If the site provides or stores any of the raw materials or services used by the mill and mix operator, the farm must be registered appropriately in its own right.

There are a number of codes which apply to a site depending on the specific operations being carried out. https://www.foodstandards.gov.scot/business-and-industry/industry-specific-advice/farming-and-primary-production/reigstration-and-approval-of-feed-businesses

If the services of a MM&M unit is to be employed on a Lion registered pullet rearing or laying farm, it is the responsibility of the laying farm to inform the packer (subscriber) that this is the case. In turn, the packer (subscriber) is required to register the MM&M onto the Lion database as supplying the PR or LF.

Factors to be considered include: the level of autonomy – does the PR or LF draw raw materials from their own farm or are they brought in for direct use?; Does the MM&M operator determine the programming of the equipment? Is any medication administered? As it is very unlikely that there is no responsibility on the part of the PR and LF, HACCP procedures and Risk Assessments are inevitable to some degree.

It is not necessary for all feed suppliers to be UFAS registered, however, it is necessary for all to be BEIC registered. This means that all home mill and mixers, sites which engage a mobile mill and mixer on their farm, and all integrated compounders must register each of their operations with the BEIC. All BEIC registered premises other than those who are UFAS registered will undergo their own 6-monthly audit under the Lion scheme.

As soon as the training programme for subscribers’ fields-teams is complete, a timetable for carrying out witnessed assessments will be drawn up.

When version 8 of the Lion Code become live on 1 September 2023, “The subscriber (Licensee) is required to have a written contract in place with each registered Laying Farm with a clearly defined termination clause and notice period. (Guidance) In the case where there is supply via a third party, a document signed by all three parties (egg producer, third party, and subscriber (licensee)) must be in place with a clearly defined termination clause and notice period”. The packer (subscriber) must ensure that some form of written agreement is in place with a clear termination clause and notice period. Without such a document a CRITICAL NC will be raised against the packer (subscriber).

The Producer Establishment Number xUK12345 has already been allocated to a laying farm.

In the event of the PC being unable to print the Lion mark and BB date on the eggshell, BEIC must be informed. If the Lion logo and BB date cannot be marked on the eggs at the PC (to the required standard) and if BEIC is challenged by a consumer as to why the eggs in a Lion marked pack have no Lion or BB date on the shell, we will say they are not Lion quality eggs. The reason for this is that when the Food Standards Agency advice was amended in 2017 to allow runny or raw eggs to be served to vulnerable groups “as long as they are Lion eggs”, we need to be able to demonstrate that they are. The only way a consumer / food service operator can be certain they are using a Lion egg is of the Lion logo is printed on the shell.

Yes. It is possible to print on the shell of certain speciality eggs using blue food grade ink. Farms with speciality breeds can apply through their packer (Subscriber) to the BEIC for the use of blue food grade ink to mark the Producer establishment Number (PEN) on the eggs on farm. This derogation must be requested for each flock cycle when there are speciality birds on farm.

Where there is only one farm printer but there are both speciality and conventional hens on site it is possible to apply the blue ink to ALL eggs, but this must be covered by a derogation from BEIC. At all times, it is the responsibility of the laying farm to ensure that eggs are printed with the correct PEN and at least 80% of print on the eggs is legible.

As a result of new EU-exit requirements, it is necessary to indicate the ISO country of origin (GB) on all Class A eggs. It is a Lion Code requirement to apply this code on the eggshell.

If it is not possible to print “GB” on the same line after the Best-before date, then it must be printed on a separate line below.

The Packing Centre must not market any eggs as Class A without a current National Control Programme negative (for a regulated Salmonella serovar) test result for the flock, which is within the 15-week (105 day) period. A copy must be available at the packing centre grading the eggs.

If the operator sample is taken within the 13-week (91 day) cycle, but the result is not known until e.g., the 14^th week, eggs can still be used as Class A. If the operator sample is taken outside of the 13-week (91 day) cycle, but within the 15-week (105 days) NCP cycle, eggs can be used as Class A, however, the subscriber (Licensee) is to issue a non-conformance against the laying farm. If the NCP Operator Sampling interval of 15-weeks (105 days) is missed, a critical non-conformance to be issued by the subscriber (Licensee) and eggs laid after the 15-week deadline become Class B and sent for processing until such time as a negative result (for a regulated serovar) is received from the laboratory.

It is the responsibility of the packer (subscriber) to ensure that the laying farm is up to date with its operator sampling. It is a regulatory requirement that eggs from a laying farm of ‘unknown’ salmonella status are not placed on the market. By definition this means that a packer could be open to prosecution if it was to place eggs on the market due to the laying farm not having completed its Salmonella sampling requirements.

We will be shortly making an amendment to version 8 to revert to the amended version 7, but this is for the purposes of any penalty that would apply if the 13-week sampling interval is missed.

ALL visitors such as service providers MUST sign a Visitors book. This may mean strategically placing copies of a visitor record at key points such as at the site entrance. It is acceptable to have multiple Visitor books on a site. APHA require time of visit when carrying out their traceability visits following a Notifiable Avian Disease and therefore invoices and receipts are not sufficient.

ALL staff should be recorded in an Attendance book or recorded as “Staff” in the Visitors book.

Electronic clocking-in systems are acceptable provided there is an historical record that can be provided upon request to the auditor.

The in-line PC must have means of segregating the egg before it reaches the grader. Eggs from the suspended in-line laying farm are to be removed and not stored in the PC (note ‘Site’ includes all buildings on the registered PC). If this cannot be achieved, the PC which is on the same site as the suspended laying farm will also be suspended from the Lion scheme during the period of suspension of the in-line laying farm.

To ensure traceability of eggs, the packing centre cannot grade any eggs as Lion Quality without a completed passport which will confirm Salmonella vaccination status, bird numbers / hatch dates in the respective sheds and Salmonella results to date. It is the responsibility of the senior management of the laying farm to ensure that the PC receives the Lion passport form the pullet rearer, completes the relevant sections and forwards it to their packer (subscriber) before any egg is collected from farm and is packed as Lion.

It is also a requirement of the laying farm to submit to the packer (subscriber), within 14 days of the flock depletion, the completed Lion passport.

No ungraded non-Lion egg can be brought into the PC either from non-Lion farms or non-Lion packing centres. Any Lion egg packed as non-Lion can be stored in the PC for onward sale subject to a derogation from the BEIC.

No. A PC must not collect eggs from a laying farm which is not registered by them on the Lion database. The exception to this is where eggs are supplied to the PC by another Lion registered packing centre. In this case, all egg movement must be documented on fully completed ‘Weekly Sales and ‘Weekly Purchases’ Movement documents’ (see Appendix EE).

O1 requires that “The subscriber (licensee) is required to have a written contract in place with each registered Laying Farm with a clearly defined termination clause and notice period. (Guidance) In the case where there is supply via a third party, a document signed by all three parties (egg producer, third party, and subscriber (licensee)) must be in place with aclearly defined termination clause and notice period”.

The packer (subscriber) is responsible for ensuring the supply farm is registered to them, fully compliant with the Lion Code of Practice at all times. When a new laying farm is registered to the subscriber, a subscriber-accompanied self-audit is to be carried out by the subscriber (with birds in) before egg can be collected and packed as Lion. This is regardless of whether the farm remains within 6 months of a previous audit by another subscriber and/or with a valid Certificate of Conformity (from NSF).

Where the PC is using a single colour plastic tray for all egg types, it shall denote the egg type by issuing laying farms with coloured tickets or colour flash. Egg tickets should state the egg type as follows:

Grey for Enriched cage
Blue for Free range
Green for Barn
Pink for Organic

The BEIC recognise that with remote farms and the need for efficient egg collection that 3 days (oldest lay date – OLD) may not be achievable. This does not preclude however the need to collect eggs from farm twice per week. Farms are to continue to mark pallets and tickets with the OLD as before and to rotate stock to ensure that ALL eggs are collected a minimum of twice per week.

Derogation: The derogation that allowed PCs to collect eggs from farm once per week was a temporary measure during the pandemic and at the height of the AI outbreak. This derogation is to be removed shortly and you will be advised.

At least one member (the team leader) of the HACCP team to be qualified to Level 3. It is recommended that others of the team should be qualified to Level 2

It is for the senior management of the registered site to carry out due diligence on the contractor to ensure that its operatives carry the appropriate and valid training certificate. It is suggested that the individuals should have evidence of refresher training within the last 5 years.

All contractors and their operatives must understand and follow the CRRU guidance.

Yes, you are required to carry out a self-audit of the laying site before eggs are collected and packed as Lion. A thorough self-audit allows the packer to assure themself that the supply farm continues to comply with the Lion Code. Copies of completed self-audits must be retained on the laying farm.

If a laying farm builds an additional shed on a laying farm already registered to the packer (subscriber) the packer must carry out a self-audit of the shed before eggs are collected and packed as Lion. This allows the packer to assure themself that the shed complies with the Lion Code. Copies of completed self-audits must be retained on the laying farm.

To ensure traceability of eggs, the packing centre cannot grade any eggs as Lion Quality without a completed passport which will confirm Salmonella vaccination status, bird numbers / hatch dates in the respective sheds and Salmonella results to date. It is the responsibility of the senior management of the site to ensure that they receive the passport from the rearer, complete it and forward it to their subscriber before any egg is collected from farm.

It is also a requirement to submit the Lion passport, with end-of-lay details included, when the flock is depleted, no later than 14 days of the flock depletion.

Strictly speaking, the auditor is obliged to record this as a minor NC but would then qualify the finding depending on the number of birds out and the efforts that have been made to contain them.

The Lion Code is primarily designed to promote food safety and egg quality. Temperature recording is designed to alert the senior management of the site to any temperatures outside of the 5-20˚C range. The key point is to ensure that there is minimal variation in egg store temperature and to demonstrate that temperature management of the egg store is suitable.

The egg store is for the storage of eggs but can be used for the storage of clean packaging for short term use. The egg store MUST not be used for a workshop, chemical or material store or general dumping ground.

No. Plastic transit packaging is designed to be part of a closed-loop system with cleaning and disinfection of the plastic components at the packing centre. Plastic transit packaging leaving the closed-loop can be a Salmonella risk. Therefore, plastic transit packaging must not be used for farm-gate sales

No, it is no longer necessary to differentiate fibre or plastic keyes by colour for different egg types. However, all pallet ID tickets must be colour coded or have a colour flash as per the following egg type:

Grey for Enriched cage
Blue for Free range
Green for Barn
Pink for Organic

Yes, farms with speciality breeds can apply through their packer (Subscriber) to the BEIC for the use of blue food grade ink to mark the Producer establishment Number (PEN) on the eggs on farm. This derogation must be requested for each flock cycle when there are speciality birds on farm.

Where there is only one farm printer but there are both speciality and conventional hens on site it is possible to apply the blue ink to ALL eggs, but this must be covered by a derogation from BEIC.

At all times, it is the responsibility of the laying farm to ensure that eggs are printed with the correct PEN and at least 80% of print on the eggs is legible.

The BEIC recognise that with remote farms and the need for efficient egg collection that 3 days (oldest lay date – OLD) may not be achievable. This does not preclude however the need to collect eggs from farm twice per week. Farms should continue to mark pallets and tickets with the OLD as before and to rotate stock to ensure that ALL eggs are collected a minimum of twice per week.

Not all UFAS approved mills are Lasolocid free and some mobile mill and mix operations may have other customers who incorporate Lasolocid in their feed. It is part of the feed mill standard operating procedures (SOP) and their HACCP to ensure that when producing layer diets the particular production line is flushed or not used for layer feed. The mill operator can provide this verification.

It can sometimes be the case that a laying farm changes feed compounder part-way through a flock or for the next flock.

This is not a new requirement in Version 8, as it was already part of Version 7. The BEIC collects data to demonstrate to government industry progress in reducing injurious feather pecking in laying flocks.

The data for both 40 weeks and 70 weeks should be submitted to your packer (Subscriber) within one month (i.e. no later than 44 weeks and 74 weeks of age).

Under the current egg marketing legislation solar panels are acceptable as shade; however, the solar panels must not restrict birds’ access to range at any time. The panels must not stop e.g. grass from growing on the range in contravention of egg marketing standards.

By way of example, the EU egg marketing regulations state: “Open-air runs to which hens have access must be mainly covered with vegetation and not be used for other purposes except for orchards, woodland and livestock grazing. The competent authorities may authorise the use of open-air runs for other purposes, in particular the installation of solar panels, that are not conflicting with the animal welfare conditions as laid down in Directive 1999/74/EC and do not limit the mobility of the hens”.

There are some 2,500 Salmonella serovars, many of which pose no specific threat to food safety. However, there are some strains (e.g., S. infantis) that can affect human health and are of concern to the Food Standards Agency but are not currently included in the Salmonella National Control Programme. Your vet can advise on how to eradicate these strains from your site.

Evidence of correspondence that your vet has been involved is sufficient.

Salmonella control is one of the cornerstones of the Lion Code of Practice. As such, it is a requirement of the Code that any suspicion of Salmonella (particularly Salmonella Enteritidis or Typhimurium) is reported to BEIC immediately. This is to ensure that food safety is protected. Please note that with reference to E9 below a “suspicion” may relate to different serovars but until confirmed, the BEIC will take a precautionary approach to protect both the Lion Code and the producer.

If the official NCP Salmonella sample does not get taken during a calendar year, through no fault of the site, this will be recorded as a CRITICAL NC. However, during the NSF technical review stage, no further action will be taken against the farm.

Where a producer obstructs an official NCP Salmonella sample being taken (e.g. refuses admittance or fails to accommodate) then it will result in a CRITICAL NC and the assessor is required to immediately report the site to APHA.

It is a requirement to have taken the operator samples before the end of the 13-week interval (91 days), but not necessarily to have received a result. We will be shortly making an amendment to version 8 to revert to the amended version 7, but this is for the purposes of any penalty that would apply if the 13-week sampling interval is missed.

Yes, your new packer (subscriber) is required to carry out their own self-audit of your site before eggs are collected and packed as Lion.

It is necessary for your pullet rearer to confirm with you that the number of pullets to be delivered does not exceed the capacity of the house into which they will be placed.

At the point of pullet delivery from a Lion registered pullet rearing farm, additional pullets may be purchased for immediate onward farm-gate sale (i.e. they must not be housed for collection at a later date). However, there must be documented evidence, including the full name, address, contact telephone number, and signature of the third-party purchaser (or invoice) of the destination of the additional pullets. This must be available for inspection by the accredited monitoring agency. Pullets must be recorded on a single invoice that will match the passport(s) and the ATC. APHA are very prescriptive, and overstocking is subject to a heavy fine, downgrading of egg and possible delisting from Lion.

To avoid the potential for either additional stress on the birds, but more importantly to maintain biosecurity, any pullets destined for onward movement should be collected by the third-party customer at the time of delivery.

An ATC is not required if transporting your own livestock in your own transport over a distance of less than 50km.

If transporting chicks or pullets to a customer or using a third-party transport, an ATC is required.http://apha.defra.gov.uk/external-operations-admin/library/documents/exports/WIT06.pdf

It is necessary for the pullet rearer to verify with the laying farm customer the capacity of the house into which POL pullets will be placed. Chick placement numbers and expected rearing mortality should be managed to meet these capacities. No additional chicks, above the normal 2% FOC, should be delivered from the hatchery without reason. If the laying farm customer requests more than the LF house capacity, pullets can be delivered to the farm, however, it is expected that they will be immediately collected on delivery and not housed at the LF site. Registered pullet rearing sites are permitted to only issue one invoice per pullet order that will match the Lion passport and the ATC. APHA are very prescriptive and overstocking on the LF is subject to a heavy fine and possible suspension from the Lion scheme.

Whilst training in the administration of all vaccines is recommended, the Lion Code only requires verification of the administration of Salmonella vaccines. Administrators are to provide evidence that they have received training from a suitable training provider (e.g., your vet, Salmonella vaccine service company, vaccine manufacturer). Refresher courses may be necessary.

In addition to training, there must be a written Standard Operating Procedure for the administration of salmonella vaccines.

ALL visitors such as contractors and service providers MUST sign a Visitors book. This may mean strategically placing copies of a visitor record at key points such as different site entrances. It is acceptable to have multiple Visitor books on a site. APHA require time of visit when carrying out their traceability visits following a Notifiable Avian Disease and therefore invoices and receipts are not sufficient.

ALL staff that do not live on site should be recorded in an Attendance book or recorded as “Staff” in the Visitors book.

The site operator needs to demonstrate and justify the practice in place. Where techniques such as SPIDES take place the temperatures and humidity may be varied from those specified but must be recorded and justified.

It is a legal requirement for a nominated responsible person to be present throughout the catch for both health and safety and bird welfare. It is not acceptable under ethical employment to expect catchers to attend a site and work without provision of facilities to take a break, wash and get changed and to go to the toilet. If your dwelling is the only permanent facility and you do not want them to use it then you need to provide temporary facilities for the operation.

The BEIC maintains a database with the site contact details, size, house capacities and system of production, that is used to help maintain traceability within the Lion Code of Practice. It is important that this database is correct at all times. NSF may decide to reassess where there is a significant change.

It is expected that ALL staff, including casual and part-time staff, receive some form of recorded induction training on the commencement of work.

It is then a requirement that no later than 4 months after their start date, new members of staff are registered on the Lion Training Passport portal by their employer/line manager: www.liontrainingpassport.co.uk

The requirement is that at least one training course needs to be undertaken per year, commensurate with the individual’s role.

It then remains the responsibility of the site employer / line manager to renew the registration of all their staff each year and ensure that at least one additional / refresher training course is undertaken each year as necessary to maintain their competence record.

The principle should be to only allow essential vehicles onto site (within the General Biosecurity Area).

At all times (M10, M19)

All vehicles should be visibly clean. Consideration should be given to the entire vehicle, especially general farm vehicles such as telehandlers, tractors and trailers used for moving manure. These vehicles are likely to have been in contact with other contaminants and are often heavily soiled around wheel arches and mudguards, axles and within the cabs. Consideration should also be given to the area over which they travel and park (excluding where access through the Range is necessary) which should be cleaned and disinfected before and after each visit.

AIPZ (M24)

As above, but each vehicle must be cleaned with a power washer and disinfected before entering the General Biosecurity Area or the Range. Consideration should be given to the deposition of material and possible transmission from the cleaning area and process. Consideration should also be given to the area over which they travel and park.

SZ or PZ (M28)

As above, but power washing and disinfection is mandatory under an APHA General Licence on entry and exit from General Biosecure Area.

Mist (knapsack) sprayers are only appropriate for disinfection and are inadequate unless the vehicle is power washed or visibly clean beforehand.

The principle should be to only allow essential vehicles onto site (within the General Biosecurity Area (or range on certain organic sites)).

At all times (K10, K19)

AIPZ (K24)

SZ or PZ (K27)

As above, but power washing and disinfection is mandatory under an APHA General Licence on entry and exit from General Biosecurity Area.

Mist (knapsack) sprayers are only appropriate for disinfection and are inadequate unless the vehicle is power washed or visibly clean beforehand.

The principle should be to only allow essential vehicles onto site (within the General Biosecurity Area).

At all times (L10, L19)

AIPZ (L24)

SZ or PZ (L28)

As above, but power washing and disinfection is mandatory under an APHA General Licence on entry and exit from General Biosecure Area.

Mist (knapsack) sprayers are only appropriate for disinfection and are inadequate unless the vehicle is power washed or visibly clean beforehand.

The principle should be to only allow essential vehicles onto site (within the General Biosecurity Area)

At all times (K9, K18)

AIPZ (K23)

SZ or PZ (K26)

As above, but power washing and disinfection is mandatory under an APHA General Licence on entry and exit from General Biosecurity Area.

Mist (knapsack) sprayers are only appropriate for disinfection and are inadequate unless the vehicle is power washed or visibly clean beforehand.

It is the responsibility of the senior management of the site / biosecurity officer to design and layout the biosecurity zones in a manner that protects the birds, but which allows the continuation of practical tasks around the site. It is then their responsibility to demonstrate compliance to the satisfaction of the auditor.

If breeder layers have access to the range (unlikely), it is recognised that the “Range” can constitute a separate area within the General Biosecurity Area with a risk of transferring infection directly into the Specific Biosecurity Area (albeit that the birds have access to both) There should therefore be some precautions in place where personnel are moving between the “Range” and the Specific or Intermediate Biosecurity areas which should be made clear to an auditor as part of the biosecurity plan. It is difficult for the Code to be precise given the range of operational variation.

There is no specific limit on the size or position of the various zones, but they must be clearly labelled and correspond with the farm plan (A3). The minimum requirements are set out in the Lion Code.

ALL visitors such as chick delivery, feed delivery, deadstock contractors and service providers MUST sign a Visitors book. This may mean strategically placing copies of a visitor record at key points such as at farm gates. It is acceptable to have multiple Visitor books on a site. Visitors such as deadstock collection should not enter the General Biosecurity Area but should but still record their visit. APHA require time of visit when carrying out their traceability visits following a Notifiable Avian Disease.

ALL staff that do not live on site should be recorded in an Attendance book or recorded as “Staff” in the Visitors book.

Electronic clocking-in systems are acceptable provided there is an historical record that can be provided upon request to the auditor.

Whenever a team is supplied onto the registered site to provide a service which, under the act (Gangmasters (Licencing) Act 2004) includes gathering any type of agricultural produce, a GLAA licence is required.

If the individuals within a team submit their own invoices and are paid separately and are responsible for their own working hours and working arrangements, they may be considered as self-employed.

Any organisation, which supplies a team, even if the individuals are employed directly by the organisation, permanently or temporarily, is required to provide a GLAA licence number. The number may be held by a subcontractor who provides the actual service. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/11/section/4

For clarity labour providers who bring their own equipment to site such as construction crews or cleaning teams are not required to hold a GLAA licence.

It is the responsibility of the breeder subscriber to submit the quarterly use of antimicrobials to BEIC, which is then aggregated and forwarded to Defra’s Veterinary Medicines Directorate for publication in the Annual Veterinary Antimicrobial Resistance and Sales Surveillance (VARSS) report (part of national surveillance on antibiotic use).

Yes, all sites are to have a written flock health and welfare plan and usually this would be agreed during the site visit indicated above. In exceptional circumstances where there are a number of sites all under the same management and where veterinary interventions (e.g., vaccination, testing, worming treatments) are consistent across all of the sites, then a single policy document may be produced which covers all of the farms. In this situation the document must clearly stipulate which Lion registered sites are covered by the document given specific information for each site (e.g., bird numbers, house numbers, breed, placement dates etc). In this case it will still be necessary for a veterinary visit to be conducted on each site (for the reasons described above). It is expected that the visits will lead to recommendations for specific management changes, and these may be summarised in writing and combined with the flock veterinary health and welfare plan document.

The quarterly visit / inspections by a vet as part of the Poultry Health Scheme is acceptable.

All flocks must be under the care of a veterinary practice. The overseeing veterinarian should work closely with individual registered sites to ensure that the highest levels of bird health and welfare are maintained. Collaboration with a veterinary practice should also help to minimise the risk of disease and maximise flock performance. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) governs the activities of all vets operating in the UK and have recently issued updated guidance which makes it clear that any vet wishing to prescribe prescription-only medicines to birds under their care must be able to demonstrate familiarity with the farm and the flock in question. In practice this means that the site needs to have had a veterinary visit. Furthermore, since 13^th December 2023, any export to the EU, whether of egg, egg product or meat from end of lay hens can only be conducted if the flock is either a member of the Lion Code (fulfilling the above requirement for veterinary visits), or if there has been a specific annual visit following which the vet must sign a veterinary health attestation. The written veterinary health and welfare plan shall be reviewed on site annually, when birds are present. It must be available at the time of the audit and be appropriate to the operation being carried out.

Lion registered sites in the same ownership / control (even in close proximity) but under a separate Breeder PR registration number are to receive separate vet visits.

All mills MUST be registered with the BEIC. There are three categories of feed mills that can be registered.

UFAS accredited mills
Static / home mill and mixers specifically producing poultry diets for own use, but which are not UFAS accredited.
Mobile mill and mixers

For Breeder Rearing only UFAS accredited mills can be used.

This is unchanged from V7.

The BEIC list of approved laboratories lists them based on their capability and willingness to deliver the results the Lion Code requires. It is the responsibility of the senior management of the site to ensure that the laboratory they engage provides results in a timely manner, provided they receive the samples in time. The failure of the laboratory to return a sample result cannot be used as mitigating circumstances to avoid a CRITICAL NC. Laboratories which receive samples in time should be chased to provide results.

The requirement for pre-housing swabs to be taken from a poultry house is not new. Indeed, it has long been a requirement of the Lion Code. What is new, however, is that version 8 of the Lion Code requires the results of the samples submitted for Salmonella testing to be available and be negative for a regulated Salmonella serovar before restocking.

The challenge from Salmonella has not gone away and we occasionally see cases. If a flock were to be housed before the site receives a negative result for a regulated Salmonella serovar (S. enteritidis, S. typhimurium, monophasic S. typhimurium, S.hadar, S.Infantis, S.Virchov) and the result was to be confirmed positive, this would require the suspension of the positive house from the Lion scheme. As it is a requirement that all houses on site are Lion registered, this would in effect be the removal of the site from the Lion scheme for that flock cycle.

The Lion Code states, ‘post cleaning’, therefore this could be carried out after washing with a detergent and prior to disinfection. Whilst the best approach would be to conduct swabbing after full disinfection, taking swabs part-way through the cleaning and disinfection programme could help ensure results are available without having to extend turnround times.

We understand that the process will potentially add 5 days to turnaround hence why a 12-month derogation until 31^st May 2024 has been introduced to adjust programming to accommodate the requirement that a negative result must be obtained prior to housing.

Veterinary advice is that it is simply too risky to place ‘clean’ pullets into a house without knowing its Salmonella status. It would certainly be very risky from a financial point of view and added to this, there could be some awkward questions asked by an insurance provider if birds were housed before the house had tested negative and the flock subsequently went positive.

The majority of vets would also agree that allowing the house to rest for a few extra days can help to reduce the general disease challenge to the replacement flock and birds/production could benefit.

If post cleaning swab results are not available when pullets are due to be placed, arrangements should be made to postpone delivery. If birds are placed before the results are received but they are negative the site will receive a CRITICAL NC and will be put on special measures (i.e. 6 monthly audits).

In summary, the amendment protects producers as well as the Lion scheme in general.

Veterinary advice is that it is simply too risky to place ‘clean’ chicks into a house without knowing its Salmonella status. It would certainly be very risky from a financial point of view and added to this, there could be some awkward questions asked by an insurance provider if birds were housed before the house had tested negative and the flock subsequently went positive.

The majority of vets would also agree that allowing the house to rest for a few extra days can help to reduce the general disease challenge to the replacement flock and birds could benefit.

If post cleaning swab results are not available when chicks are due to be placed, arrangements should be made to postpone delivery. If birds are placed before the results are received but they are negative the site will receive a CRITICAL NC and will be put on special measures (i.e. 6 monthly audits).

In summary, the amendment protects producers as well as the Lion scheme in general.

It is the responsibility of the senior management of the site to demonstrate to the NSF auditor that due consideration has been given to fire control and prevention. It is not exclusively to do with fire extinguishers or their service records (the Lion Code does not specify any type of extinguisher or replacement frequency) but whether all the precautions on site are suitable for the premises: location, size/capacity, type, condition. Also consider other fire precautions and risks such as proximity of flammable material, fire exit routes, signage and procedures and alarms. Storage and disposal of waste is also a consideration.

Advice and guidance is available from your local fire brigade via a xxxxx.gov.uk website and from

Fire Extinguishers – Classes, Colour Coding, Rating, Location and Maintenance

Insurers may also require some risk-based precautions are implemented.

All-mains electrical circuitry within the poultry house must be inspected on a flock turnaround by the senior management of the site and any defects documented and rectified immediately. There is no specific requirement for the senior management to have a qualification for this task although there are a number of City & Guild qualifications available. It remains the responsibility of the senior manager to qualify that any risk of electrical fault is minimised and should therefore undertake whatever measures necessary e.g. records of electrical rectifications or alterations.

An electrical inspection by a qualified electrician is required at least every three years in line with legislation.

It is usually a requirement of insurers that a poultry farm electrical checklist is completed by a qualified electrician at a frequency stipulated by the insurer. A copy of this completed checklist/document would be acceptable evidence for the purposes of the Lion audit.

There may be several products and brands of disinfectants or pesticides that appear to have the same ingredients or mode of action and/or are similar materials to those on the BEIC list of approved products, however, any product used as a disinfectant or pesticide in poultry houses or stored on farm MUST appear on the BEIC list of insecticides / acaracides. Any products not appearing on this list must not be used or stored on a Lion-registered site.

Yes, however, a complete electronic copy of the Lion Code must be downloaded onto a PC, laptop, tablet or mobile device.

It is possible to keep electronic site records for inspection, but they must be available at the time of audit.

In order to save time on the day of the audit, it is beneficial to make records available to NSF ahead of the physical audit. Please discuss this with your auditor when scheduling your visit.

It is recommended that ‘in house’ operators are qualified to BPCA or NPTA standards. However, there are a number of approved CRRU alternative certificates. https://www.thinkwildlife.org/training-certification/

Grandfather rights are not recognised.

A refresher course is required on a 5-year cycle. However, this period will be reduced to three years where site operators cannot demonstrate effective rodent control is in place.

Evidence of good pest control is a key indicator, but other measures include:

Detailed records
- Risk assessments
- Bait plans and baiting records

The standard requires that third party pest control contractors are qualified through either NPTA or BPCA, however, it is for the senior management of the registered site to carry out due diligence on the contractor to ensure that its operatives carry the appropriate and valid training certificate. It is suggested that the individuals should have evidence of refresher training within the last 5 years.

All contractors and their operatives must understand and follow the CRRU guidance.

Registration on the GB Poultry Register is a legal requirement. Please contact customer.registration@apha.gov.uk or call 03000 200 301. CPH numbers are not acceptable because they are not specific and only applicable in GB, not UK. Please ensure that the GB Poultry Register has a record of the facts on the farm. You should have received a letter of registration from DEFRA / APHA. If this is not available, a confirmatory email from APHA that your site is registered as a keeper of poultry is acceptable.

For sites in Northern Ireland, contact the DAERA Helpline on 0300 200 7840 or your local DAERA Direct Office for a registration form, or it can be downloaded at https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/daera/22.23.105%20AIPM4%20Application%20for%20Flock%20Number%202022%20V3.PDF

A 6-monthly self-audit must be carried out by a subscriber, accompanied by the senior management of the site (and the site biosecurity officer). Only individuals who have attended one of the Lion training courses on their particular section of the Lion Code, and who will have subsequently received a certificate of attendance from NSF, can carry out and sign off the 6-monthly self-audits. (For laying farms, the subscriber is the packer; for pullet rearing farms, the subscriber is the pullet rearer subscriber; for breeder rearing and breeder laying farms, the subscriber is the breeder subscriber; for feed mills the subscriber is the feed mill subscriber).

As the world’s leading food assurance scheme it is important that all registered sites have full understanding of the relevant sections of the Lion Code that apply to their operation. For example, a Lion registered laying farm will need to fully understand sections 1, 6, 8, 10, and 11, plus the relevant appendices.

In addition, it is important that sites have an understanding of the different sections of the Code.

If the disagreement concerns a decision made by the NSF auditor or is a complaint about an NSF auditor, an appeal can be made in writing to NSF (the procedure is set out in Appendix KK – ‘Complaints, Appeals, Disputes’).

If the dispute concerns the standards in version 8, then clarification to be sought via the BEIC.

Please note: NSF auditors will not tolerate any verbal or physical abuse and if they feel it necessary, have been instructed to terminate the audit. In these circumstances the site will be immediately suspended from the Lion scheme.