What is the quality label?

The provisions of the quality label define binding criteria in product-specific basic and supplementary requirements for numerous agricultural products and processed products. These must be respected when growing or producing as well as processing (process and product quality). These requirements go beyond the statutory requirements.

These include:

• Satisfaction of the requirements of the labelling “non-GMO”.
• Special requirements for marketing standards in the fruit and vegetable sector (e.g. only EU marketing standard Extra I or respective UNECE standards).
• Increased quality requirements for beef and veal, pork, lamb and poultry meat.
• Mandatory participation in quality assurance systems and residue monitoring.
• Ban on feeding fish meal to ruminants.
• Ban on sewage sludge as fertilizer.
• Preferred use of gentle means; preferably mechanical weed control.
• Using mainly feed that stems from own production.
• Conclusion of a care contract with a farm veterinarian.
• Max. animal transport time of four hours to the slaughterhouse.

If products are labelled with the quality label with indication of origin, the following requirements apply:

• Monoproducts designated to a region of origin, such as potatoes or meat, must be produced according to the requirements of the quality label from that designated region.
• For processed products, this applies to the ingredients stated on the product label. In total, at least 90 % of the recipe components in processed products must comply with the requirements of the origin.
• Animals must be raised and slaughtered in the designated region; specific regulations shall apply to brought-in animals, such as piglets.

Basic and supplementary requirements vegetal
Basic and supplementary requirements animal

Owner of the label

The legally responsible owner of the quality label Baden-Wuerttemberg is the state Baden-Wuerttemberg, represented by the Ministry of Rural Affairs and Consumer Protection (Ministerium für Ländlichen Raum und Verbraucherschutz; short: MLR). The owner of the label is responsible for the content and further development of the label. The owner decides on licensing. A transfer of the system to another member state or region of the EU is possible by means of a contract with the MLR. With conclusion of a corresponding contract the member state or the region becomes the subordinate owner of the label. Member states or regions interested in the system transfer may inquire at about the possibilities for the transfer:

Ministerium für Ländlichen Raum und Verbraucherschutz
Referat 22 – Vermarktung, Marketing, Ernährungswirtschaft
Kernerplatz 10
70182 Stuttgart

Contact: Mr Bruno Krieglstein; phone: 0049 711 126-2112, e-mail: bruno.krieglstein@mlr.bwl.de

Provided that no contractual agreement can be concluded between a member state or a region within the EU and the MLR, the latter will issue licences upon request directly to licensees located in the relevant regions or member states.

Licensees

Upon request, the MLR awards the right to use the organic label by means of a license agreement to organisations, associations or alliances of the agriculture and agri-food industry, which are able to provide monitoring of the label’s use regarding the applicable provisions.

Parties interested to act as a licensee shall inquire in writing to the owner of the label:

Ministerium für Ländlichen Raum und Verbraucherschutz
Referat 22 – Vermarktung, Marketing, Ernährungswirtschaft
Kernerplatz 10
70182 Stuttgart

Currently, the following licensees are listed.

User of the trademark

Users of the trademark are businesses of the agricultural and agri-food sector that utilise the quality label towards the consumer. For this purpose and depending on the product, they conclude a trade mark agreement with a licensee and will hence be integrated into the quality assurance and control system. They agree to comply with the label’s general and product specific rules and requirements during processing and marketing at all times. At present, approximately 500 users of the quality label Baden-Wuerttemberg are listed for their products (as of January 2016). Businesses interested in the use of the quality label shall inquire in writing to one of the licensees.

The employees of MBW Marketinggesellschaft will be happy to provide you with more information.

Producers

Producers are businesses producing agricultural goods for the use of the quality label. They agree to comply with the quality label’s rules for the agricultural production at all times. Currently, approximately 6,500 agricultural farms are integrated into the quality label Baden-Wuerttemberg as producers (as of January 2016).

As a producer, how can you participate in the quality label of the state Baden-Wuerttemberg?

For this purpose, producers conclude a participation agreement with a licensee and will hence be integrated into the quality assurance and control system. The employees of MBW Marketinggesellschaft will be happy to provide you with more information.

The control system for the quality label Baden-Wuerttemberg consists of three stages:

• Self-monitoring
• Neutral monitoring
• Monitoring supervision (control of inspections)

Self-monitoring

All participating producers and all trademark users are obliged to perform inspections of their business with the aid of detailed checklists on a regular basis to ensure that all requirements of the quality label are fulfilled when growing or producing.

Neutral monitoring

Neutral inspections will be performed in fixed intervals as sample checks by trained auditors of accredited neutral monitoring institutions whose professional expertise has been proven in an accreditation process. Basically, the neutral inspections will be performed in the same manner by all monitoring institutions on the basis of a predefined schematic plan.

Link: Table of accredited neutral monitoring institution

Residue checks and quality inspection

All raw products are subject to drawing random samples which are then examined for residue of undesirable substances in accredited laboratories. Processed products (meat products, juice, beer, etc.) must prove their quality in regular intervals; e.g. in quality inspections according to the DLG test scheme or similar.

Monitoring supervision

Both the neutral monitoring institutions and licensees of the quality label must account for their control and monitoring activities at trademark users and producers on a regular basis. In an annual audit, the owner of the label or a representative will verify whether all necessary inspections have been performed completely and in a proper way.