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Responsible pork tastes better
20
June
2019
Together with our pig farmers, we are devoting a lot of effort to the health and welfare of the animals. Stress-free animals are healthier, deliver tender and juicy meat, and contribute to our goal of sustainability. Everybody wins. But how do we achieve this?
Zen
Luc and Monique have a pig farm in Limburg. They spoil their animals with comfortable sties, relaxing music for pregnant sows and toys for the piglets. All the pigs, no matter what their age and gender, live with their peers.
This is just one example; all our suppliers are making an effort to improve the welfare of their animals. And they’re happy to do so; on the one hand for their animals, and on the other, because stress-free pigs are healthier and therefore more productive.
Antibiotics: no meat for our table
Administering antibiotics to animals can eventually lead to resistance with both animals and humans. That’s why it is important to control the use of the drug. To ensure that our shops offer meat of only healthy animals, we commit ourselves, together with our pig farmers, to a responsible and careful use of antibiotics.
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Quality in a manual
All our pork suppliers must meet a number of quality criteria. For example, pigs cannot be given tranquilisers and the meat must not contain significant antibiotic residues. These requirements are in our constantly evolving manual. Today, we’re on the sixth version; another improvement for (public) health and animal welfare, as well as for the quality of the meat.
No castration, but vaccination
Since 2010, we haven’t sold any meat from castrated piglets; we’ve opted for vaccination as an alternative. Just like castration, it lowers hormone production and so there’s no ‘boar taint’ during cooking. Which means you can eat delicious meat without the piglet being hurt needlessly. But the farmers also benefit from the vaccination, because it reduces the risk of infection amongst the animals, so antibiotics are needed less often.
With this initiative, we contribute to the following Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
