ICPOR, a company specializing in swine integration of white and Iberian pigs, reinforces its commitment to animal welfare by obtaining the Welfair® certification, an independent certificate based on the European Welfare Quality and AWIN® projects, where systems have been developed to assess and control the quality of animal welfare on farms and slaughterhouses. This certificate is completely voluntary and is managed by the Institute for Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA) in collaboration with Neiker-Tecnalia.
Obtaining this certification applies both to breeding sow and piglet farms, or sow farms, as well as to facilities dedicated to fattening, or feedlots, integrated with ICPOR and shows the company’s firm commitment to a sustainable development model already long term where animal welfare is one of its vehicular axes.
“The Welfair® certification is added to Interporc’s “Animal welfare and biosecurity” certificate and responds to our commitment to applying the best practices in the management of our animals and greater transparency with society in the production of raw materials. of the highest quality for food processing. It is essential that consumers demand this transparency and an increasing involvement of producers in terms of animal welfare. At ICPOR we have been demonstrating this since our inception more than 10 years ago”, explains Julián Redondo, manager of the company.
Welfair® certification is valid for one year. If ICPOR wishes to continue having this accreditation, it must once again undergo a demanding audit in which the activity of each farm is analyzed according to 4 basic principles (good nutrition, good accommodation, good health and appropriate behavior) and 12 criteria. These criteria are closely related to each of the principles that the certification contemplates: absence of prolonged hunger and absence of prolonged thirst (good nutrition); comfort during rest, thermal comfort and ease of movement (good accommodation); absence of injury, absence of disease, absence of driving-induced pain (good health); and expression of social behavior, expression of other behaviors, good human-animal relationship, and positive emotional state (appropriate behavior).
In process, the renewal of the IAWS ‘Animal welfare and biosecurity’ certificate
The Welfair certification is the second specific certificate in animal welfare granted by an independent third party that ICPOR has, after the “Animal welfare and biosafety” certification, according to the Technical Regulation of Animal Welfare and Biosafety Interporc Animal Welfare Spain (IAWS). ICPOR has already started the demanding process of auditing its farms in accordance with this regulation for its voluntary renewal.
The IAWS Regulation has been reviewed by an independent scientific committee and by associations in defense of animals and applies to the different links in the production chain of the pig sector.
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