If the meat comes from several farming stages – for example in the case of mixed foods such as minced meat – this must also be labeled:
(Photo: tierhaltungskennzeichnung.de)
(Photo: tierhaltungskennzeichnung.de)
Manufacturers are only allowed to forego the proportional information if at least 80 percent of the labeled meat comes from one type of farming method.
When will I see the label in the supermarket?
Theoretically, now. The animal husbandry labeling law came into force on August 24, 2023. As soon as a food company has all the necessary information, the state seal can be placed on the product.
The label was originally supposed to be on 1 January 2024 label fresh pork. Instead, agricultural businesses now have one year to report their farming conditions to the responsible authorities. In total there is even one two-year transition period. That means: first ab September 2025 Fresh pork will be mandatory labeled.
And for which products does the state animal husbandry label apply?
First of all, the license plate only shows the housing conditions during pig fattening. It only applies to fresh meat that should be labeled both in the refrigerated shelf and at the service counter, at the butcher and in online stores.
The expansion to so-called “out-of-home catering” – such as catering – “is planned for 2024,” a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) told ZDFheute. In the future, other animal species and processed products such as sausages should also be labeled. However, exact schedules are not yet known.
The posture already exists. Why another state label?
What the state animal husbandry label promises – a quick classification of the animals’ keeping conditions – is what another label has been trying to achieve since 2019: the posture.
However, the form of husbandry is a voluntary initiative. “If the label cannot be found on all products, it is difficult for me as a consumer to make comparisons,” says Constanze Rubach from the Lower Saxony Consumer Center. This is where the advantages of a state label lie: “Firstly, it is mandatory for all products and, secondly, it is subject to state-verifiable controls.” This could make all other seals superfluous.
However, that will not happen: in the future, consumers will simply see the animal husbandry label as another label on their packaging. The “Initiative Animal Welfare”, a cross-industry alliance of the meat industry and responsible for the husbandry label, told ZDFheute that this type of husbandry should continue to exist – albeit in a different form. So that there is no label confusion, it should Sommer 2024 Label products using a farming system adapted to the state seal.
You can find out more about the husbandry label here:
Is the state animal husbandry label still a benefit for consumers?
“Yes and no,” says Rubach – and speaks of a question of perspective. She praises them Commitment of the license plate. This makes it easier to choose more animal-friendly products. The market will more transparent. But Rubach also has several points of criticism:
No animal welfare label: Criteria regarding animal health, animal behavior or stress management are not taken into accountInsufficient cutting: Stages of life such as rearing, sow keeping, transport and slaughter are not taken into accountInsufficient coverage: Most of the products and all other animal species are not yet coveredInsufficient added value: License plate not self-explanatory, information campaigns necessary
The BMEL knows about the weak points. A ministry spokesman spoke to ZDFheute about plans Cutting and cover to improve. The spokesman explains why the license plate was not immediately introduced comprehensively due to the “complexity” of the undertaking. In view of the particular challenges, including European legal requirements, the BMEL “decided on a pragmatic and step-by-step approach”.
What do farmers think about the state animal husbandry label?
Bernhard Krüsken is General Secretary of the German Farmers’ Association and summarizes his position on the state animal husbandry label in two sentences. “It comes very late,” says Krüsken. “And it’s not enough.” If you ask Krüsken what exactly he means by that, two major problem areas emerge.
The first: the European internal market. The state animal husbandry label only applies to German fattening pigs.
“We have a European internal market for all animal products,” criticizes Krüsken, “but very different animal husbandry and animal welfare standards.” The agricultural economist speaks of “cut-throat competition” in pig fattening: German farmers could cope with the high requirements – compared to Europe does not compete in price with pork from Spain or Poland.
“There is anonymous goods with very low standards on the counter,” says Krüsken. This forces German farmers to sell their meat at a price that barely covers the costs. The result: more and more pig farming businesses are giving up.
The federal government cannot solve the problem alone. According to the BMEL spokesman, the ministry is “also committed to animal welfare identification at the EU level”. Krüskens second However, it could address the problem area: the Scope.
That initially just fresh pork is marked is not understandable for Krüsken. “Fresh meat makes up about 23 to 25 percent of a pork carcass,” he says. The remaining parts that go into sausages or restaurants remain anonymous.
“The idea of labeling is that higher standards in animal husbandry are rewarded,” criticizes Krüsken. The problem: As long as a German sausage manufacturer does not have to label animal husbandry, he can make higher profits with cheap meat from Spain or Poland – without critical consumers finding out about it.
The farmers’ clear demand here is that every form of meat must be labeled – for all animal species and no matter where it comes from.
And Krüsken raises another point. Like Constanze Rubach from the consumer advice center, he also demands that Preliminary stages of pig fattening to mark. “What has affected consumers in recent years?” asks Krüsken and lists:
Cage stalls for sows in piglet production. Castration of piglets without anesthesia. Docking piglets’ tails. Grinding piglets’ teeth
With the current labeling, it is possible that “a piglet produced in other European countries that was castrated without anesthesia, that has a docked tail, where the sow stood in a narrow crate, is marketed here in Germany under a premium husbandry level because “It spent the last months of its life in a better environment.” Krüsken clearly:
I don’t want to talk about consumer deception, but it ignores an important part of the truth.
The BMEL emphasizes that “fattening is the longest phase of an animal’s life”. The extension of the labeling is already laid down in the law. With the start of animal husbandry labeling, “an important step forward has been made”.
Does the label change anything for the animals?
No, because the label expressly indicates the current status. “This does not involve any new requirements for animal husbandry,” says user information from the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
It is also unclear whether the animal husbandry label will have an indirect impact on the husbandry conditions. However, Constanze Rubach from the Lower Saxony Consumer Center “doesn’t necessarily see any incentives for farmers to invest in better farming conditions”.
She is disappointed that politicians did not also introduce the state license plate legal minimum standards lifts. “Especially in the lower levels of husbandry, it should under no circumstances be assumed that an adequate level of animal protection is ensured,” she criticizes.
The ministry points out that it has also submitted changes to the Animal Welfare and Farm Animal Husbandry Ordinance to the Federal Council in parallel to the law on animal husbandry labeling. “With this, the minimum legal standard would have been raised in some points,” says the BMEL spokesman. But the Federal Council rejected this.
Without a fundamental adjustment of the structures, Rubach fears that the state animal husbandry label could not only remain incomplete – it could be almost ineffective for animal welfare.