Repository logo
  • Log In
    New user? Click here to register.Have you forgotten your password?
University College Dublin
    Colleges & Schools
    Statistics
    All of DSpace
  • Log In
    New user? Click here to register.Have you forgotten your password?
  1. Home
  2. College of Health and Agricultural Sciences
  3. School of Veterinary Medicine
  4. Veterinary Medicine Research Collection
  5. An evaluation of four private animal health and welfare standards and associated quality assurance programmes for dairy cow production
 
  • Details
Options

An evaluation of four private animal health and welfare standards and associated quality assurance programmes for dairy cow production

Author(s)
More, Simon John  
Marchewka, J.  
Hanlon, Alison  
Balzani, Agnese  
Boyle, Laura  
Uri
http://hdl.handle.net/10197/13102
Date Issued
2021-12
Date Available
2022-08-29T14:43:35Z
Abstract
Private standards in animal health and welfare (AHW) and associated quality assurance (QA) programmes are an important instrument for food policy with the potential to substantially improve AHW. However, there are concerns that they do not necessarily do so. In this study, we evaluated four private AHW standards and associated QA programmes for dairy cow production, from Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, using an existing (but adapted) conceptual framework. The framework considers criteria relating to programme goals including relevance to AHW, programme beneficiaries, effectiveness, efficiency and transparency. The current study focused on information that was publicly available online. We found limited objective information to support programme claims, although there were considerable differences between programmes. Across all programmes, problems were identified with respect to transparency, and attempts to scrutinise claims would not be a straightforward process for most consumers. Among the programmes, there were notable examples of best-practice in AHW, relating to science-based evidence, separation of risk assessment and risk management, animal-based measures, farm benchmarking, ongoing programme-level metrics and measurement, and ongoing programme review. There is a need for careful scrutiny of private standards and QA programmes, to provide consumers with assurance with respect to programme effectiveness and transparency. Further, it is important that programme efficiencies are maximised. There is a strong case for regulatory oversight of private standards in AHW and associated QA programmes. This could be within existing or defined policy instruments, both to facilitate the positive impact of these programmes and to build confidence among consumers of the validity of programme claims.
Type of Material
Journal Article
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal
Food Policy
Volume
105
Copyright (Published Version)
2021 the Authors
Subjects

Quality assurance pro...

Private standards

Animal health and wel...

Dairy production

Food labelling transp...

DOI
10.1016/j.foodpol.2021.102169
Language
English
Status of Item
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0306-9192
This item is made available under a Creative Commons License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ie/
File(s)
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name

1-s2.0-S0306919221001494-main.pdf

Size

493.7 KB

Format

Adobe PDF

Checksum (MD5)

3de25893dfd86bd3f57d654be24d0956

Owning collection
Veterinary Medicine Research Collection
Mapped collections
CVERA Research Collection

Item descriptive metadata is released under a CC-0 (public domain) license: https://creativecommons.org/public-domain/cc0/.
All other content is subject to copyright.

Built with DSpace-CRIS software - Extension maintained and optimized by 4Science

  • Cookie settings
  • Privacy policy
  • End User Agreement