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22.09.2023 - Foods

Animal Husbandry Labelling Act: Labelling of Pork

The Act on Animal Husbandry Labeling (Animal Husbandry Labeling Act, TierHaltKennzG) was promulgated in the Federal Law Gazette on August 23, 2023, and came into force the following day.

The key content of the Act is a mandatory labeling for certain foods of animal origin to indicate the housing form of the animals from which the meat was obtained. The Act provides for five housing levels, namely the levels Stall, Stall + Space, Fresh Air Stall, Outdoor/Free Range, and Organic. The individual levels differ particularly in terms of the size of the floor and lying area that must be available to the animals, or the possibility of outdoor access.

In a first step, the Act is to apply to fresh meat, minced meat, and animal by-products such as offal, but not to meat preparations and meat products. The scope initially includes only pork. Thus, the TierHaltKennzG initially applies to the marketing of fresh pork, regardless of whether offered chilled or frozen, to minced meat with any proportion of pork, and to offal from pork such as pork liver or pork kidneys.

It is important that the intended labeling applies to both pre-packaged and non-pre-packaged foods. In the future, a corresponding labeling must also be provided for loose pork offered, for example, over the service counters of food retailers.

For pre-packaged goods, the Act requires a mandatory pictorial design that must appear in the main field of view of the package.

This is the front of the package. For loose goods, for example, "Fresh Pork Fillet, Housing Form Stall + Space" can be indicated.

Moreover, the Act includes some special cases. This concerns, for example, constellations in which pork from different housing forms is offered in a pre-package. In this case, each level must be mentioned, and the percentage share of meat from each level must be indicated.

Another special case concerns the marketing of meat from different animal species, such as mixed minced meat from beef and pork. In this case, it must be indicated that the housing form information refers only to the species pig.

There is a transition period for food labeling until August 1, 2025.

For questions, our customer advisors are available.

Source: 

• Cibus Attorneys - https://www.cibus-recht.de/
• Link: https://www.cibus-recht.de/kennzeichnung-zur-tierhaltung-bei-schweinefleisch/
• Link to the publication in the Federal Law Gazette: https://www.recht.bund.de/bgbl/1/2023/220/VO.html