Most consumers do not deliberate foods that have involved animal cruelty, but perhaps due to ignorance. Swiss seeks to end this situation with the introduction of new guidelines for the Labeling of products of animal origin such as meat, milk or eggs.
At the end of May, the Federal Government announced a series of modifications in the Food and Objects Regulation (LGV) as well as in the Food Information Regulations (LIV). which begins to be applied from this July and will have a two -year transition period.
This is obliged to specify in the packaging if the products come from animals to which some have been done painful procedure without anesthesia. The objective is to offer greater transparency to consumers so that they can make better informed decisions.
The obligation of declaration and labeling applies to all establishments that offer these products, such as restaurants, small shops and retailers.
“Consumers will have additional information about the production method”
“When buying foods of animal origin such as meat, milk or eggs, consumers will have the future information about the production method in the future“; explained the government in a statement.”Thus you can know if these foods were produced by painful interventions performed without animals prior to animals”
In this sense, the labels must specify whether the animals have been subjected, among other things, to castration or unfortunate. And in the case of the foie gras, the liver and meat from the Forced primer of geese and ducks. As the Swiss government pointed out in its statement, forced barley has been prohibited in the country for more than 40 years, although it remains allowed abroad.
Specifically, according to the changes introduced, the following products must be labeled:
- Animal beef that were castrated or discorts without anesthesia
- Pork, if castration, cutting of the tail or the lying of teeth was performed without anesthesia
- Eggs and chickens whose peak was trimmed without pain mitigation
- Cows milk that were discorts without pain mitigation
- Frogs whose anchors were obtained without anesthesia
- Liver and meat of geese and ducks from forced barley
In addition, the prohibition of the Import of skins and leather products obtained through cruel methods for animals. In this sense, also from July 1, retailers who work with skins, including specialized stores, fashion boutiques and online vendors, must demonstrate that their products comply with animal welfare standards required by law.
According to the news portal Swiss Infocurrently the regulations only require the declaration of the species, the origin and origin of the skin. The new obligations require that the products that do not comply with the standards are withdrawn from the market and that the offenders face a criminal process. Two -year transition period is also granted to allow adaptation.
The measures taken by Switzerland align with a long -distance commitment of the country with the animal welfare. And it is that over the last years he has promoted various initiatives in this area, such as the impulse to less aggressive fishing methods, or prohibition of throwing fish by the toilet.
By expanding the requirement of labeling on animal cruelty to imports, the Swiss government raises animal welfare standards, and establishesEuevos transparency levels in world food trade. Some surrounding countries, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark or France have guidelines on animal cruelty labeling but are voluntary.
At the community level, in December 2023, the European Commission presented a proposal aimed at improving the conditions of transport of living animals, including travel time limits, temperature thresholds and minimum space requirements. However, the different amendments to the text are delaying parliamentary processes.
