Red Tractor seeking views on industry proposals to introduce tiered approach to pig standards
28 April 2025: At the request of industry, the Red Tractor Pigs Sector Board is seeking views on proposals to introduce tiered welfare standards and labelling for UK pigmeat. The proposed approach could reduce audit cost and complexity for producers and simplify consumer choice.
Building on the success and recognition of the existing Red Tractor Certified Standards logo, Red Tractor is consulting on a modular approach to welfare standards for the pigs sector – similar to the tiered model introduced for the poultry sector in 2020. The proposed system includes two new voluntary tiers, each with its own dedicated logo:
- Enhanced Welfare: Pork from outdoor-bred or outdoor-reared pigs finished indoors, with more space and a solid, bedded lying area.
- Free Range: Pork from pigs with continuous outdoor access.
Included in the consultation are some adjustments to the existing standards. These are required to ensure the equivalence with other assurance schemes that will deliver the reduced cost and complexity, and to ensure core standards reflect best practice. While the Pig TAC believes that many outdoor and indoor producers already operate at the proposed standards, the consultation is designed to establish precise views.
Expanding the use of these tiers from poultry to pork aims to provide a clear, trusted guide for shoppers, reassuring them that Red Tractor-certified pork meets a range of high standards for welfare and distinguishing those that go beyond Red Tractor’s core standards of animal welfare.
Stewart Houston, Red Tractor Pigs Chairman commented:
“For pig producers, their commitment to animal welfare is at the heart of everything they do. The Red Tractor Pigs Sector Board believes the proposed labelling system would provide a clearer, simpler way for our members to communicate and differentiate their welfare standards. It could also enhance consumers’ ability to make informed purchasing decisions by uniting existing tiers within the pork category under a suite of Red Tractor logos.
“The development of the voluntary Enhanced Welfare and Free Range tiers for pork also demonstrates Red Tractor’s swift delivery against the Farm Assurance Review. The proposed system could remove the need for producers to juggle multiple assurance schemes, reducing audit burden and associated costs. Processors could also benefit from lower licence fees and simplified packaging by using a unified Red Tractor logo system.
“Red Tractor is committed to engaging with as many pig members, processors, retailers, vets, and other stakeholders as possible to ensure Red Tractor assurance continues to deliver for them. The Pigs Sector Board will only introduce the changes if there is majority support from the UK pig industry. I encourage everyone to share their views and help shape the future of UK pig farming.”
Supporting the industry transition to flexible farrowing:
There is growing momentum within the UK pig sector towards flexible farrowing, with reduced confinement of sows compared to conventional farrowing crates. The sector is keen for this to be industry-led rather than legislated by government.
Red Tractor has supported the pig industry’s voluntary initiatives before, like antibiotic use reporting, and sees an opportunity to do the same here by providing clear standards for flexible farrowing and a mechanism to market it to consumers. Red Tractor is therefore considering a new “Certified Standards Plus” tier, with flexible farrowing as the key criteria. It is seeking views from the pig sector on whether such a tier would help support an industry-led transition to flexible farrowing, to avoid conflicting retailer requirements and reduce business uncertainty.
Stewart Houston commented:
“This approach could demonstrate proactive welfare improvements and potentially reduce the need for heavy-handed legislation, while supporting producers in meeting evolving expectations. While this tier is still under development and not expected to launch in the near future without further consideration, Red Tractor is looking for early input from producers to help shape the long-term development of this potential additional voluntary tier.”
Red Tractor’s tiered labelling is grounded in extensive UK and international consumer research. A recent study involving over 3,000 UK shoppers demonstrated strong recognition and understanding of the proposed tiered logos, supported by Red Tractor’s position as the most trusted food assurance mark in the UK. The proposed logos ensure consistency of labelling across the pork and poultry protein categories, helping consumers navigate choices confidently and reducing confusion caused by overlapping farm assurance claims.
Consultation:
- To learn more about the proposals and respond to the consultation, click here.
- The consultation runs from 28 April to 6 June 2025 and is open to all pig producers, industry stakeholders, and supply chain customers.
- Respondents can provide feedback anonymously if preferred, and all input will help finalise the standards to ensure they are workable and beneficial for the industry.
- The Red Tractor Sector Board will review the feedback at the next meeting (25 June 2025) and based on industry feedback, decide on whether to introduce the new modules. If there isn’t clear support, we won’t proceed.
Methodology:
- The proposed standards have been developed by the Red Tractor Pigs Technical Advisory Committee, supported by a dedicated task and finish group including a mix of TAC members, vets and welfare experts, and four additional pig producers representing various systems, indoor, flexible farrowing outdoor-bred and free-range systems.
- Over six detailed meetings, the group refined the proposals before putting forward their recommended standards to the Red Tractor Pigs Sector Board for approval to go out to formal consultation. Retailers were involved at the TAC level only. The Red Tractor Pigs Sector Board have overseen and scrutinised the development of the proposals.
- Details of the Pigs TAC and Sector Board membership can be found here
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