Animal Welfare According to Official Controls in Agri-Food Chain Legislation

Abstract

The aim of deliberations is to describe the concept of animal welfare in official food control in EU and national legislation. The author first describes the approach to welfare in relation to the development of agri-food chain regulation. Then she presents consumer expectations in this area and the concept of a new farm-to-table strategy. Consequently, she notes that official inspections are carried out in connection with verifying compliance with EU legislation in the area of animal welfare requirements, not in the area of welfare. This seemingly minor linguistic difference means that the legislation has as its primary objective the quality and safety of food of animal origin. In this context, animal welfare requirements are therefore rules verified by competent authorities to try to take into account the animals’ ability to feel in the food production process.