MEPs question Commission on abolition of minimum weight requirement for livers in foie gras production

Brussels, October 14, 2023 - Around a hundred MEPs, including Francisco Guerreiro, have asked the European Commission about lifting the minimum weight requirement for livers in foie gras production.


Read the question below:


Subject: Removal of the minimum weight requirement for livers for the production of foie gras
The public consultation on poultry meat marketing standards, held between April and May 2023, saw overwhelming support for the removal of the minimum liver weight requirement for foie gras.
Minimum liver weights are neither “traditional” nor based on scientific data, but were established in 1991 and amended in 1995 “taking partial account of data from technical studies carried out at that time”[1]. These studies were commissioned by foie gras producers and have not been peer-reviewed or corroborated by independent studies or evaluations.
The force-feeding required to achieve such weights is contrary to the 1998 report of the Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare[2] and to all peer-reviewed scientific studies[3].

The Commission has recognized[4] “alternative methods for the production of foie gras, which remain a minority practice in the EU”. Indeed, the minimum liver weight requirement is an obstacle to methods that do not use force-feeding.
1. How will the Commission respond to the overwhelming support expressed in the public consultation for the removal of the minimum liver weight requirement?
2. Will the Commission propose the removal of this requirement in the new regulation, thus allowing the production of foie gras without force-feeding, in order to protect animal welfare, consumer choice and agricultural activities with higher welfare standards in all EU Member States?

[1] Commission's reply to Written Question E-000356/2017 and others.
[2] “Welfare Aspects of the Production of Foie Gras in Ducks and Geese”, European Commission, Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare, Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, December 16, 1998.
[3] For example, Rochlitz, I. and Broom, D.M., “The welfare of ducks during foie gras production”, Animal Welfare, Vol. 26, No. 2, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2017, pp.135-149.
[4] In response to Written Question E-012154/2015, among others.


Read the Commission's reply below

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