AHAW certificate. 59 th Meeting of Advisory Forum. Andrea Gross-Bošković. EFSA, Parma, 8-9 March 2016

Transcription

1 AHAW certificate 59 th Meeting of Advisory Forum EFSA, Parma, 8-9 March 2016 Andrea Gross-Bošković

2 Background In December 2014 the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark signed a joint declaration in Vught, Netherlands, to establish an EU platform for animal welfare for stakeholders and competent authorities with the purpose to generate momentum and focus on the animal welfare challenges faced by the EU. The initiative was supported by a number of Member States at the AGRIFISH Council December, The conference on pig welfare in Copenhagen April, 2015, emphasizes the importance of the establishment of such a platform. On the 3446th Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting in Brussels, 15 February 2016, Council broadly supported the establishment of EU-platform for Animal Welfare.

3 Aim Greater recognition within the EU-system, Member States included, of animal welfare as an important element in EU policies, cf. article 13 in TFEU. The establishment of a joint European Animal Welfare Platform - based in DG SANTE - would serve as a common forum for the Commission, Member States, animal welfare organizations, agriculture organizations, veterinary associations, consumers etc. to discuss matters concerning animal welfare. Some of the key objectives of the recently supported EU platform could be: to facilitate the exchange of experiences and best practices; give visibility to initiatives carried out to promote animal welfare; develop partnerships amongst stakeholders; identify best practices in member states; allow networking, including the sharing of knowledge and information on research and development; boost stakeholders' commitment to contribute to the promotion of animal welfare; discuss the improvement of animal welfare legislation. Our pilot project can be identified almoust in all of these objectives.

4 Partners Partners Croatian Food Agency (HAH) Croatian Veterinary Institute (CVI): Animal Welfare Unit Laboratory for Animal Feed Microbiology Laboratory for Analytical Chemistry Faculty for Veterinary Medicine in Zagreb (VF): Department of Hygiene, Technology and Food Safety

5 Pilot in Croatia In accordance with those recommendations HAH and partners plan to start a pilot project for the development of the welfare certificate based on the latest scientific knowledge in the field of animal welfare and food and feed quality Project will be implemented trough several work plans: a) Animal Welfare review of the farm will be conducted with the protocol developed on the basis of Welfare Quality, AWIN and Assurewell protocols taking into consideration specificities of Croatian agriculture and stockmanship. After the initial screen, recommendations for improving the welfare will follow, in order to fulfill benchmark protocol standards for the certificate. Also, the stress hormones (cortisol) in urine will be monitor and linked up with protocol data collected. Continuous inspections of animal welfare will be carried out during the whole production as well as the inspection of welfare standards at the time of slaughter. b) Microbiological assessment of feed - Microbiological quality of feed by VDLUFA method as this method includes enumeration of bacteria, molds and yeasts in feed; and determination of pathogeness in feed (Salmonella, Clostridia, Entereobacteriae, Listeria); c) Meat quality assessment determination of basic chemical paramethers in raw meat (water, protein, collagen, ash, fat, carbohydrates) and some additional parameters of meat quality (fatty acid composition and cholesterol); d) Sensoric and organoleptic assessment

6 Steps to develop the certificate* 1. Process the data collected in the PILOT, and based on these data determine easily measurable reliable benchmark indicators of animal welfare; 2. Develop assessment protocol for all measures mention before that will be quickly feasible, reliable and "user friendly ; 3. Test the protocol in field conditions and remove deficiencies if discovered; *The certificate will include a complete breeding time of animals; including keeping conditions, nutrition/feding and care of the animal, as well as ways of transport and killing all in all one special breeding model.

7 Reasons for certification The result of this breeding model and its standardization will provide an opportunity for producers to sell their own product on the domestic and foreign markets with certainty that the extra effort invested in breeding methods will be recognized by consumers troughout the recognisable certificate. Croatian Food Agency assigning the certificate Animal Welfare Assessment on farm CVI Feed quality and safety CVI Welfare assessment at the time of slaughter CVI + VF Meat Quality CVI+VF

8 Goals Short-term goals: to standardize breeding model on several pilot farms to develop and publish a guide for breeding (and slaughtering) model Long-term goals: to develop a recognized certificate and HAH as an umbrella institution when it comes to food; to guarantee to consumers the default mode of production of food, and the safety and quality of the food origin to enable easier placement of meat and meat products to foreign markets (EU, US, Russia)