The sustainability of the Spanish Beef Industry is based on the European Production Model (MEP, in Spanish), which are the highest quality and food safety standards in the world, certified with a traceability system from the farm to the table. This guarantees healthy and safe food, of the highest quality and produced with a low environmental impact.
Animal health
Healthy animal breeding and meat production are performed in compliance with EU legislation on preventing and combating animal diseases, as well as bio-safety measures in farms and processing industries.
The Spanish beef industry is a world leader in animal welfare. All of the Spanish farms currently meet the European requirements regarding animal welfare.
The objectives are to establish minimum requirements for animal protection at the farm, during transportation and at the time of slaughter; and to contribute to improving and maintaining competitiveness levels of livestock exports, thereby creating a higher-quality market that is compatible with the European Production Model and that allows to enter and maintain export markets for the product.
Sustainability and respect for the environment: Preservation of biodiversity through extensive stock farming, integrated pollution prevention and control and greenhouse gas emissions reduction, both at the farm and in the meat processing industry.
Extensive beef farming
Animal welfare: Comfort contributes to the improved life quality of animals and the quality of the products at the farm, during transportation and at the time of slaughter.
Food safety: The complete traceability of each animal makes it possible to follow the full process of the product. This guarantees quality control along the whole production and commercialization process, with the aim of always providing healthy, safe and quality products to the consumer.
This system is based on Royal Decree (Real Decreto) 1980/1998 and the specific characteristics of each animal (sex, age, farm of origin, etc.) are kept in the RIIA (Registro de identificación individual de animals / Animal Individual Identification Register) database.
Traceability offers information on the cuts purchased by the final consumer through the labelling system. This provides a total health and commercial guarantee. The traceability system is based on a vast network of control protocols, starting with the health inspections of the animals at the farms, where the herds are periodically supervised and treated, if needed. The control continues with the inspection of the carcasses by a veterinarian.
In order to complete the food safety circle of beef reaching the final consumer, it is important to stress the need for full control of the cold chain, including cooling, and even, freezing, from the slaughter and airing of the carcasses, to the moment the meat is cooked.
R+D+i
The Spanish beef industry reaffirms its commitment to promote and develop research programmes aimed at identifying and improving the technology of innovation processes throughout the whole value chain of its products.
PROVACUNO is firmly convinced that this is a tool for further expansion outside its borders and for the commercialization of its products in export markets.
The organization is already working on a market research study on the image of the product and the habits of the national beef consumers.
