Health monitoring and preventive animal health care - milk
Level: Core
Healthy animals are crucial to animal welfare and food safety. Continual monitoring of health parameters enables deviations to be quickly detected, laying the foundation for the prevention of sicknesses in the animals. Contracting organisations that set requirements for health monitoring encourage preventative animal health care and healthy animals.
Details
- Type:
- Technical specification
- ID:
- 11449
- Group:
- Milk and dairy from cows
Criterion text
Milk must be sourced from dairy farms that continually document important parameters in connection with the animals' health and that implement preventative measures for hoof health. The following health parameters must be documented on an ongoing basis:
- The number of animals that die in the herd, along with the reason for the deaths
- The number of animals treated for sicknesses, the preparations used and the reasons for treatment
- The number of cows and heifers that are inseminated, and the results from calving (number of stillbirths).
The parameters must be able to be monitored over time to allow corrective measures to be taken as needed.
The following preventative measures must be implemented:
- Hooves must be inspected and trimmed as needed
Verification
Upon request the supplier shall be ready to present, for example, one of the following:
- Certification according to IP nöt och mjölk grundcertifiering [IP beef and milk base certification] or other certification that meets the requirement.
- Proof of affiliation to or certificate from a animal health program which includes the parameters covered by the requirement, such as a pet association program Kokontrollen [Cow control], Hälsopaket mjölk [Health package milk] or other program that meets the requirement.
- Details regarding the raw material's country of origin and reference to applicable law in cases where national legislation establishes that the requirement is met, e.g.,
- Ursprung Sverige [Origin: Sweden], Chapter 7 Section 12-13 of SJVFS 2019:25 Item no D8, L 41, Chapter 2 Section 6 of SJVFS 2019:18 Item no. L104 and Chapter 8 Section 1-3 of SJVFS 2004:41 Item no. M26.
Proposed follow-up
One method of follow-up is through spot checks of delivered products. It is then checked that information about the country of origin of the raw material can be provided/details that the supplier has submitted with the tender are reviewed: such as by means of:
- ensuring that information about certification according to IP nöt och mjölk grundcertifiering [IP beef and milk base certification] or other certification that meets the requirement is correct.
- ensuring that origin marking appears on the product in cases where national legislation establishes that the requirement is met, e.g.,
- Ursprung Sverige [Origin: Sweden], 'Mjölk från Sverige' [Milk from Sweden] or 'Från Sverige' [From Sweden] along with documentation showing that the requirement has been met, e.g., an Importer's Declaration along with a self-assessment in accordance with Miljöhusesyn or measures according to on-farm register, treatment register, veterinary register and/or hoof health plan.
- ensuring that other documentation provided shows that the requirement is met.
Information about the criterion
The criterion for organic products at the advanced level requires that the animal keeper works according to a plan for preventative animal healthcare, see Requirement ID 10450, Organic product - addition milk.
Environmental goals
Motive
Healthy animals are crucial to animal welfare and food safety. Continual monitoring of health parameters allows deviations to be quickly detected and appropriate measures to be put in place, thereby laying the foundation for preventing sicknesses in the animals. Keeping animals healthy can also result in higher productivity from the animals, which reduces the environmental impact of each kilo of milk. Important factors for monitoring animal health include mortality, morbidity, veterinary treatments, the use of medicinal products, and the animals' ability to become pregnant as a measure of their biological functions.
Inadequate hoof health can result in considerable suffering in the animals, as well as great financial losses to the farmer. According to the Swedish Board of Agriculture, cows with foot-and-mouth disease have, amongst other things, shorter lifespans, which results in impaired fertility, reduced yield, and a greater risk of developing other diseases, such as mastitis. Diseases of the hoof have therefore been ranked amongst the most costly illnesses affecting dairy cows.
The surface that cows stand on affects the balance between growth and wear of the hooves, and regular inspections and trimming are used to prevent and treat hoof problems, as well as to restore a favourable distribution of pressure across the hoof. Hoof trimming means that the hooves are ground or cut back in order to correct toe length, the thickness of the sole, the toe angle and the width of the hoof etc.
Versions history
The version date indicates when the sustainability criterion was created or last updated. Last reviewed dated tells when we last checked that the sustainability criterion still is relevant.
- Current ID
- 11449
- Version date
- 2020-12-21
2020-12-21, RequirementID 10449: Original version. New criterion according to Swedish animal welfare legislation regarding documentation and preventive animal health care. Require documentation of relevant parameters such as sickness, deaths and result of insemination as well as preventive measures for hoof health strongly connected with animal health. Suggested verifcation is certification on base level. Swedish legislation or animal health programs from a pet association.