Feeding and rearing conditions
Farmers have to comply with very strict environmental and animal feeding requirements. Already at the stage of construction of the chicken coop, producers have to obtain relevant permits for its construction, and the location is thoroughly checked in terms of environmental impact. Furthermore, producers need to comply with requirements on stocking density per square metre and a ban on the use of antibiotics and hormones to stimulate growth.
Veterinary surveillance
Each herd and slaughterhouse, in each country of the European Union, is supervised by a veterinary inspectorate, which not only ensures that the technical standards for farm buildings are met, but also that the animals are properly treated and that ethical slaughter standards are respected in order to minimise animal suffering.
Slaughter, processing and logistics
The European Union also applies strict requirements on reducing the time and distance of animal transport and on stunning of poultry immediately before slaughter. Moreover, to ensure compliance with GMP and GHP systems, the possibility of occurrence of food safety hazards is minimised.
