News article, 26. November 2021

More Danish consumers value animal welfare label

The Danish government-controlled animal welfare label continues to be a strong parameter for Danish consumers and companies.

Photo: Danish Agriculture & Food Council

the animal welfare label origins date back to 2017 and Danish pig meat. Today the label encompasses a partnership across various food categories – sliced cooked meat, dairy products and meat. The results from a new campaign shows that the label continues to attract the interest of consumers.

Under the slogan "A hold on your heart”, the Danish Agriculture & Food Council ran a campaign in the spring for the government-controlled animal welfare label "Better Animal Welfare”. Its message focused on alerting consumers to the fact that they could find the label on various food categories. The label’s three green hearts can therefore be found on sliced cooked meat, beef/veal, pig meat and dairy products.

Latest results from the campaign: growth in awareness of the animal welfare label

The results from the campaign showed that knowledge of the animal welfare label remains high, with 73% of Danes in the 25-75-year-old target group aware of the label. This is an increase on the previous year when 67% of Danes were aware of the label.

Figure shows Danes’ awareness of the animal welfare label.

Shopping habits identified through the three green hearts

The purpose of the three green hearts is to increase the Danes’ knowledge and understanding of the animal welfare label and consumers should be able to trust it. The message behind the welfare label is to make consumers, the retail sector and food service conscious of shopping habits.

Facts about the animal welfare label

The animal welfare label, also referred to as "better animal welfare”, is a government-controlled label divided into three levels – the more hearts there are, the higher the standard of animal welfare. Products carrying the label support those farmers who make an effort over and above the already high Danish animal welfare requirements. This does not mean, therefore, that products that do not carry the label have an inferior welfare standard. In general, Danish farmers have a high standard of welfare and, in many respects go beyond what is required under EU legislation. For this reason, it could be said that the animal welfare label is a 'luxury' addition to Danish food products.