The National Agency for Public Procurement’s new criterion – reduce the use of fast growing chickens

Municipalities and stakeholders in the public sector in Sweden, can apply certain animal welfare-based requirements in the procurement of animal products for school canteens, etc. They use the National Agency for Public Procurement’s sustainability criteria to guide them. During 2022 and 2023, the national agency has worked on updating the criteria on chicken- and turkey meat. Project 1882 has been part of the aforementioned advisory group.

The new criteria, published this week, has several of the suggestions Project 1882 recommended. For example; the opportunity to procure meat from healthier chicken breeds in accordance with the European Chicken Commitment (ECC), and by excluding meat from fast growing chickens. 

– Project 1882 is ecstatic that our participation in the advisory group has led to positive outcomes for chickens. Facilitating municipalities and regions to reject the use of fast growing chickens will reduce suffering at large. It is important to simultaneously reduce consumption of chicken meat in order to strengthen the protection of animals in the long term, said Camilla Bergvall, President of Project 1882.

Using sustainability criteria in public procurement is not mandatory, but municipalities that Project 1882 are in contact with have been asking for more opportunities to set requirements on the chicken industry to guide their purchases. The previous criteria did not go further than the Swedish animal welfare legislation, apart from that on organic production. The new criteria increases the possibilities to set requirements allowing chickens to have better lives. 

The fast growing chicken breeds that are used in Swedish factory farms have more health problems and a higher mortality, than the slower growing breeds. This has been documented in material that Project 1882 got from an anonymous source and published, and recently scientific opinions from the EU.

General comments from Project 1882:

● The opportunity to prioritize chicken welfare through the new criteria on breeds with limited growth rate is welcome. This will enable a reduced demand for "Frankenchickens" (fast growing chickens) and an increased demand for ECC-chickens. If meat from chicken producers complying with ECC is sourced, additional requirements promoting chicken welfare will be included in the bargain.

● A suggestion; to add a criterion of outdoor access (free range) was made by Project 1882. However, it wasn’t put forward in the final publication. Project 1882 is disappointed about this, because the requirement for outdoor access will continue to be limited to organic production only.

● Calling chicken meat “meat” in the new criteria, and not “chicken” as before, is an improvement. To distinguish between the living animals and what their dead bodies are used for is an important distinction. This has already been done in the criteria for pig meat.

● The new criterion on competence in animal transportation is an improvement, and Project 1882 succeeded in getting this criterion on the “core” level, instead of “advanced”. Project 1882 did suggest another criterion, on the advanced level, for shorter transport time and careful loading of chickens, but it was not put forward in the final publication.

●  The new criteria is more transparent that antibiotics (coccidiostats) are used in the feed, even in the criterias that restrict the use of other antibiotics.   

● Project 1882, believes that there is a need for a new criterion limiting the stocking density for  chickens and turkeys.

● Project 1882, would have wished for a new criterion on enrichment, giving chickens and turkeys access to at least some elevated platforms and pecking substrates,  increasing their possibility for natural beahviours.

● Project 1882 would have wished for a new criterion on pre-slaughter stunning so that procurers can choose not to support the risky water bath stunning. Now the option is limited to simply demand stunning before slaughter, not what type of stunning to be used.