Quality Assurance Scheme Labels supporting welfare-claims
Research in Work Package 1.2 has continued this year with an interview-based study of the schemes whose labels were found on products that carried welfare-claims. Labels like Label Rouge (France), SKAL (Sweden), RSPCA Freedom Foods (UK) can reassure shoppers that certain farming standards have been met during the production of the product. These labels are the primary form of communication between quality assurance schemes and the shopper.
The relationship between assurance schemes and consumers in Europe is complicated as some retailers and manufacturers choose not to use logos on own-brand packaging or, where they are used, they are part of a carefully organised marketing strategy of segmenting category lines by quality. Consequently this does not give a clear picture to consumers as to what welfare standards products have been produced. In some cases – e.g. Assured Food Standards (UK), KSL (Norway), IKB (the Netherlands) – the history of assurance schemes indicates that they began life as an industry initiative, and it is only in recent years that logos have been created to market the scheme to consumers. Whereas in other cases the primary drive of the scheme has been to communicate with consumers and thereby to create a place in the market, e.g. Agriqualita –Tuscan region quality scheme (Italy), Label Rouge – quality scheme (France), SKAL – organic scheme (Sweden). All the European organic schemes have followed this strategy, and also very often carry animal welfare claims.
As the study from the previous year showed, animal welfare claims on food packaging often accompany these labels. It is also true that claims are made on products that do not carry these labels. Our study investigated the importance of animal welfare for assurance schemes. For the majority of schemes whose labels were found accompanying animal welfare claims, animal welfare is secondary to a more general concern for communicating ‘quality’. However, there are exceptions.
• The RSPCA Freedom Food Scheme (UK) is the only dedicated quality assurance for animal welfare in Europe. However, despite a considerable number of animals passing through the scheme, products from these animals do not always carry the label. Retailers and manufacturers are unsure whether the scheme is sufficiently known or understood by shoppers to add value to the product. Additionally, retailers and manufacturers are keen for their own quality brand to be held in trust to meet higher animal welfare standards without having to provide an independent guarantee on the packaging.
• Swedish Meats (Sweden) is a scheme that implicitly guarantees higher animal welfare standards, because it allows shoppers to select Swedish meat products over those from other countries since they know that Swedish meat will have met higher animal welfare standards.
• Peter’s Farm (veal, the Netherlands) and Thierry Schweitzer (pork, France) are two examples of producers who have created their own dedicated welfare-friendlier production systems and label.
Following industry consolidation, fewer schemes and labels exist in the UK and Norway in contrast to Sweden, the Netherlands, France and Italy, where they range in origin from a manufacturer, a producer group or a non-governmental organization.
Emma Roe
Work Package leader 1.2: market for welfare-friendly animal based food products
More information: roeej@Cardiff.ac.uk
