Document type News : News item from Ifip
Author: Christine Roguet
Preview: The German Federal Minister of Agriculture is planning to introduce mandatory livestock labelling in Germany in 2022. He does not view this labelling as a mark of accreditation or quality, but as required information for the consumer on the farming practices that have produced the item on sale.
Labelling would be compulsory for German products and voluntary for products from other countries. The labelling requirement will initially apply only to fresh, unprocessed pork sold in retail outlets or butcher's shops. Other animal species, products and food suppliers will be included in the scheme at a later date.
Transport and slaughter should not be part of the labelling as they are the same for all farming systems. In these two areas, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture wishes to achieve improvements through new regulations.
Based on the EU-wide labelling of eggs, four levels are planned for the compulsory labelling of German farming systems:
- Indoor housing (Stall): the lowest level, intended to apply to farms that meet the minimum requirements of the EU directive 2008/120/EC on the protection of pigs. It corresponds to level 3 of the egg label.
- Contact with the outside air (Außenklimakontakt): This level should apply to open buildings (Außenklimaställe) or buildings with bays (Ställe mit Auslauf). It requires more space per animal and more stringent requirements for lying surfaces and organic manipulable materials with long fibres. The exact details of the requirements are not yet known.
- Open air (Auslauf bzw. Weide): At this level, the animals must have permanent access to an open-air pen protected from bad weather and the sun. In contrast to the "outdoor climate" level, the pigs must be provided with a minimum area for the outdoor run. The building must also provide more space per animal, a straw bedding area and long-fibred organic manipulable materials. The details of the requirements, such as the area per animal, are not known.
- Organic (Bio): This highest level of farming system under the official label should correspond to level 0 of the egg label.
