Ten quality requirements

Consumer rights Through our membership in the Danish Poultry Meat Association (Dansk Slagtefjerkrae), we at Rose Poultry A/S have our ‘Ten Commandments’ to guide us. These ‘Ten Commandments’ are central issues in which Rose Poultry A/S has invested

These requirements on us can also be called your 10 quality rights:

1. You have a right to free choice
Danish abattoirs and food product firms should be able to provide a steady supply and extensive range of foods, both conventional and special products, including ecological products. Our ambition is to be able to meet all conceivable consumer demands in a European Union with a bountiful range of foods.

2. You have a right to enjoy life
Healthy and delicious foods which turn mealtimes into a culinary experience are part of enjoying life.

3. You have a right to be heard
We take consumers seriously. Consumers quite rightly place demands on the wholesomeness and quality of the food they are offered. In Denmark there is a tradition for close dialogue between farmers and food companies on the one side and consumers and various interest organisations on the other. This is a fruitful dialogue in which each side is a challenge to the other.

Agriculture in Denmark has a structural advantage in that companies are owned by the farmers. This enables their rapid response to the domestic and international markets’ shifting requirements.

4. You have a right to expect new thinking
Consumers rightly expect companies to develop and offer new and interesting dishes, which in a busy everyday life should also have the extra quality of being quick and easy to prepare.

Consumer behaviour changes all the time, and it is the food producer's task to meet diverse requirements. This places great demands on product development and new thinking. Danish abattoir and food product firms work to develop over 500 new products every year. Around 150 of the development projects end with new products, around 175 become product adaptations, and 175 projects are rejected.

5. You have a right to know the history An increasing number of consumers not only place great emphasis on quality and taste of the meat on their plates, but also want to know the history behind what they eat. How were the animals raised? What do the production conditions look like?

The Danish meat and fish industry has established a unique system which adds traceability to the system. It is possible to find out how the animal was raised, how it was transported to the abattoir, and how it was slaughtered and processed, all the way up to arrival at the cold counter in the butcher shop or supermarket. Many thousands of people visit farms and food manufacturing companies each year to see how and where their food products are made.

6. You have a right to good craftsmanship
Meat should be well cut and processed, and packaged and stored in a way that lives up to consumer expectations. In short, the consumer helps to decide how meat should be cut, right at home in the kitchen. Consumers can rightly expect good craftsmanship at the abattoirs, in the processing companies, and at the retail end. The meat and poultry sector is known the world over for supplying uniform cuts of meat for further preparation locally, and ready cut meat as well as prepared products which go directly to the consumer.

7. You have a right to good tasting food
Presenting consumers with exciting and inviting cuts and meat products is in vain if the meat on the plate does not produce a good taste experience. Taste is one of the most important factors in enjoying a meal. Meat should be succulent, so that it is pleasing to the palate. Dining quality is not a new concept, but many consumers are becoming more aware of it. An important component of the slaughtering and processing companies’ production is that safety, health and taste combine on a high level in the products which they release to the market.

8. You have a right to fresh food Durability can be very good, but it is not the only important factor. Consumers expect that the raw products they buy are fresh. The meat and poultry industry has also achieved high standards in this area, both in the domestic market and the export markets.

9. You have a right to safe products Production is carefully controlled throughout the entire chain from farm to table. Denmark is known for its high veterinary standards both in the primary industries such as farming, and in the abattoir and food processing sector. They operate under strict legal requirements, and companies spend a great deal of money and effort on controlling their production in all stages.

Authorities control in addition to the above. This thorough control has ensured high health standards in the live produce, and meat and meat products in Denmark. There are, for example, hardly ever traces of medicine in Danish meat and poultry. Consumers should be confident that the food they eat is safe.

10. You have a right to environmentally produced products
Many are concerned that large scale animal husbandry causes havoc in an ecological sense. Danish farmers work under some of the toughest environmental regulations in the world, and agriculture and the authorities have completed joint projects which demonstrate that large and profitable animal farming can go hand in hand with consideration for the environment. A release of biological matter into the soil has been significantly reduced in the last 10 years. Abattoirs and food product firms have also significantly reduced their consumption of water and electricity through the use of new technologies.