The Luxembourg Ministry for Agriculture, Viticulture and Consumer Protection has presented a package of measures for the approval of Luxembourg labels aimed at strengthening their promotion, consolidating the agricultural sector and to increase transparency.
At a press conference today, Minister Fernand Etgen presented the new measures focusing on quality regional products from sustainable production.
This package of measures has three components. The first component is aimed mainly at consumers by offering them more transparency in terms of labels. This new accreditation procedure, which evaluates labels objectively on the basis of clear and verifiable technical criteria drawn up by the official bodies, aims at ensuring overall consistency in quality procedures and increasing transparency and consumer confidence. The accreditation logo will certify that the label in question focuses on one or more of the criteria grouped according to the aspects of "Quality - Flavour", "Regional - Fair", "Environment - Animal welfare".
Secondly, the approach is also aimed at collective kitchens such as crèches, relay houses, hospitals and retirement homes. Indeed, the approval of labels constitutes an essential prerequisite in order to be able to achieve an increased valorisation of regional products at the level of collective catering. The new law on public procurement makes it possible to require agricultural products to meet certain quality and sustainability concerns.
The third component is aimed at agricultural producers. As well as aiming for a better valorisation of Luxembourg quality labels, the official recognition logo is an acknowledgment of the additional efforts made by producers. In addition, these efforts are also rewarded with financial aid and the implementation of an information and promotional campaign aiming to raise awareness of the advantages of Luxembourg quality products to the consumer.
Finally, this quality approach is based on the voluntary participation of labels in Luxembourg. The producer groups concerned may adapt their specifications to their own discretion and speed according to their means and taking into account the requirements of the consumer.
Photo by MAVPC. L-R: Jeanne Bormann, ASTA; Fernand Etgen, Minister of Agriculture, Viticulture and Consumer Protection; Christiane Mangen, Ministry of Agriculture, Viticulture and Consumer Protection
