French food watchdog seeks animal welfare labels for meat, dairy, eggs

French food regulator Anses is pushing for animal welfare labels on food products – adding the rating should be based on data taken directly from the animals, and not on reporting from producers. © AFP - ARNAUD FINISTRE

France’s food safety agency has put forward a proposal that would see meat, dairy and egg produce labelled with colour-coded scores that rate how well the goods respect animal welfare legislation.

In a report published Thursday, French regulator Anses suggested labelling animal products with a five-level rating from A to E – similar to the Nutri-score nutrition labels – to better inform consumers about how the animals were treated.