The Danish Quality Guarantee embodies the many processes and procedures in the Danish pigmeat industry which are dedicated to the production of high quality pigmeat and pigmeat products. It covers all stages of the production chain.

The Danish Quality Guarantee represents a baseline for quality performance throughout the entire industry and not a blueprint, or 'specialist' scheme, for just one part of the industry.

The Danish Quality Guarantee ensures compliance with Danish legislation. EU Directives are implemented and enforced very strictly in Denmark and in many areas both industry practice and Danish legislation is more stringent than that required by EU Directives. Official control by the Danish authorities operates at all levels of the production chain and runs in parallel with control measures carried out by the industry itself.

The Danish Quality Guarantee goes beyond a simple and prescriptive set of rules and standards. It also represents a culture of continuous improvement. It demonstrates the industry commitment to research and development for future quality improvements and the development of industry strategies to improve quality and safety procedures still further. Another feature of the Danish Quality Guarantee is the number of the industry's own self-enforced regulations over and above the requirements of EU and national legislation.

The Danish Quality Guarantee demonstrates the extent to which the industry measures many areas of performance on a systematic and regular basis. This is possible because of its uniform characteristics and its integrated structure. The availability of detailed, accurate and up-to-date information means that many aspects of production can be closely monitored and these results can be used to develop realistic strategies for improvement across the industry.

The Danish Quality Guarantee lays down the standards achieved right across the Danish pigmeat industry, but individual companies may still choose to produce to higher standards in agreement with their customers. Similarly, pig producers may choose to join specialist schemes such as the Contract for UK Production where a premium is paid for meeting higher standards and this production is subject to an independent audit.

The Danish Quality Guarantee was originally launched in December 1996 and was revised in early 2003 under the following headings:

primary production transport and pre-slaughter treatment slaughtering cutting and boning cross-functional controls If you would like to receive a copy of the Danish Quality Guarantee, please click here.