Overview
- Parliament is set to shift the mandatory start from March 1, 2026 to January 1, 2027 and authorize a fundamental redesign of the pork labeling scheme.
- The coalition is preparing rules to apply labeling in restaurants and canteens and to cover imported meat, with the agriculture minister calling for low‑bureaucracy solutions.
- Retail data show movement toward higher welfare tiers: beef from the lowest tier fell to 62.4% from 75.6% in 2023, while tier 3 rose to 16.7%; poultry in self‑service cases is almost entirely tier 2, and pork is mainly tier 2 at 86.3%.
- Initiative Tierwohl will add two premium programs in 2026 for tiers 3 and 4; roughly 13,000 farms currently participate in its tier‑2 program.
- Reactions diverge as the Farmers’ Association welcomes the delay over paperwork concerns and urges alignment with existing labels, while animal‑welfare groups warn against weakening standards and say the planned logo lacks binding incentives.