February 1, 2024

Belgium's label to identify meat products for ensuring animal welfare beyond legal requirements

Belgium's new animal welfare label, "Better for animals", will be launched in 2024 as it seeks to recognise products that make extra efforts for animal welfare beyond the legal requirements.

According to Flemish Minister of Animal Welfare Ben Weyts, the label, also known as Beter voor dieren, will be found on pork while the poultry and cattle sectors will receive the label in 2025 and 2026, respectively.

The label was developed by non-profit organisation Association for the Promotion of the Welfare of Farm Animals and is an answer to Weyts' request to develop a system that aims to improve and monitor animal welfare in the food chain in Flanders.

To this end, the organisation draws up specifications for livestock farmers, transporters and slaughterhouses and creates a system to monitor compliance.

Additionally, structural collaboration is being developed with the sector, independent scientists and Beter Leven, which manages a similar label in the Netherlands.

The quality mark has three gradations, whereby limited extra efforts receive one plus, increased efforts receive two pluses and three pluses when the producer goes beyond legal requirements.

The specifications and criteria for exactly what each plus stands for are still in the process of development.

- Vilt