Improved Process Quality through Certification Systems: An Assessment of Selected Animal Welfare Labels

The process quality of food products is currently the subject of increased attention. In the area of meat production, public discussion has centered on perceived low standards of animal welfare. Besides an increase in legislative regulations, improved animal welfare standards are most frequently achieved through the establishment of so-called animal welfare labels. So far these labeling concepts have not been substantially evaluated in terms of how well they carry out their goal of improving process quality in agricultural animal husbandry. This paper will use a recognized list of criteria to evaluate selected animal welfare labels Results show that competing labels vary strongly regarding the improvement of process quality. This has far-reaching effects not only for consumers and other label users, but also for companies that want to enter the animal welfare segment of the meat market.