technical report - mystery shopping...the mystery shopping main fieldwork took place from the 15th...
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1
TECHNICAL REPORT – MYSTERY SHOPPING SURVEY
Consumer Market Study on the Functioning of the meat market for consumers in the European Union SANCO/2009/B1/010
Prepared by: GfK EU3C (EU Custom Research and Coordination Centre)
Final Issue: December 2012
2
Table of Contents
1 The mystery shopping audit .................................................................................................... 3
2 Interpreting the results ............................................................................................................. 3
3 Overall choice of products ....................................................................................................... 4
3.1 Products assessed 4
3.2 Products purchased by assessors 5
3.3 Availability of different product types 6
4 Prices ........................................................................................................................................ 16
4.1 Availability of information on product price 16
4.2 Average product prices 17
4.3 Regular vs specific prices 24
5 Origin ........................................................................................................................................ 30
5.1 Availability of country of origin information 31
5.2 Country of origin of products 46
6 Quality ...................................................................................................................................... 58
6.1 Organic 59
6.2 Quality/origin certifications 74
6.3 Animal welfare/rearing standards 89
7 Health...................................................................................................................................... 104
7.1 Use by date 105
7.2 Nutritional value 119
7.3 Nutritional or health claims 132
Annex I. – Methodology .................................................................................................................. 145
Annex II. – Fieldwork details .......................................................................................................... 147
Annex III. – Sample frame ............................................................................................................... 148
Annex IV. – Mystery shopping questionnaire ............................................................................... 149
Annex V. – Comments from mystery shoppers ........................................................................... 157
3
1 The mystery shopping audit
Every year, the Commission monitors the functioning of the most important goods and services
markets in the EU. The meat and meat products market was identified as a market to research further
due to fairly low scores in 2011.1
The consumer market study on the functioning of the meat market in the EU includes a mystery
shopping audit and a price collection exercise, which were conducted together.
The mystery shopping main fieldwork took place from the 15th September to the 3rd October 2011.
Mystery shoppers carried out 2025 visits across 27 Member States and completed 10570 product
assessments in total. They collected data on product and product information availability and prices.
The questionnaire and detailed methodology are available in annex. The results of the audit are
detailed below by topic.
Please note that we used the following conventions when mentioning meat:
� Meat category refers to species, i.e. ‘minced beef’, ‘pork sausages’, ‘whole chicken’ and ‘pork
cutlets/chops'.
� Meat type refers to products with different production methods, for instance regular, organic,
origin or animal welfare certified meat.
Mystery shoppers were instructed to assess 12 products per visit: 3 different meat types within each of
4 meat categories.
2 Interpreting the results
Please note that the results presented below are based on the products assessed during the mystery
shopping audit rather than all products available at each retailer. Additional details are available in
annex I, but it is important to bear in mind that meat types were prioritized, that supermarkets and
hypermarkets constitute most of the sample and that mystery shoppers conducted a maximum of 12
product assessments per visit.
Mystery shoppers had to record whether information items were available on the product or shelf label,
or from the retailer staff.
In some cases, the base sizes per country are low and this should be taken into account when
interpreting the results. Where base sizes are indicated, they are in brackets on the figures.
1 GfK (2011). The monitoring of consumer markets in the European Union (Report commissioned by the European Commission,
DG SANCO). Leuven, Belgium: GfK. Retrieved on 22-04-2011, from
http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/strategy/docs/EC_Market_Monitoring_2011_en.pdf
4
3 Overall choice of products
3.1 Products assessed
Mystery shoppers were instructed to assess 12 products per visit. However, in many cases, at least a
product category or type was not available. The figure below presents the actual number of products
assessed per country, category (e.g. minced beef) and type (e.g. organic).
Figure 1. Number of products assessed per country, meat category and meat type
COUNTRY AT BE BG CY CZ DE DK EE EL ES FI FR HU IE IT LT LU LV MT NL PL PT RO SE SI SK UK
Regular 57 45 61 44 53 33 62 38 38 70 52 78 37 21 46 54 33 64 67 63 51 55 48 51 66 28 45
Organic 25 12 0 0 9 21 55 0 5 3 37 17 3 43 35 0 12 1 0 50 3 10 4 31 4 0 57
Origin
certified6 27 2 0 3 67 27 47 52 9 45 36 16 96 43 0 11 2 5 18 3 31 7 37 1 15 107
Animal
w elfare
certified
0 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 4 4 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 16 0 2 0 5 0 0 3
Environment/
climate
certif ied
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 13 0 0 1
Religious
slaughter 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 0
Other 0 1 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 6 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
Regular 19 50 45 49 43 41 58 38 45 71 57 71 30 51 46 69 32 49 54 59 21 69 64 43 65 51 57
Organic 3 8 0 0 0 20 13 0 8 0 18 13 2 5 29 0 12 0 1 29 2 0 11 16 0 1 33
Origin
certified4 30 11 0 3 78 23 46 72 10 35 47 14 75 37 0 10 4 19 9 0 17 12 24 46 33 100
Animal
w elfare
certified
0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 1 1 3 0 0 7 0 1 0 0 14 0 0 2 5 0 0 33
Environment/
climate
certif ied
0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 13 0 2 1
Religious
slaughter 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 18 0 1 1 8 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 5 14
Regular 55 59 66 50 59 19 55 31 39 67 27 72 31 20 36 70 31 60 59 39 49 69 54 34 55 48 50
Organic 18 24 2 0 15 3 22 0 19 2 5 33 5 22 31 2 16 1 3 23 2 35 10 19 8 3 48
Origin
certified13 53 50 0 4 73 39 49 52 7 13 93 37 82 28 0 20 3 18 9 5 14 28 28 26 41 80
Animal
w elfare
certified
0 15 0 0 0 0 12 0 24 42 0 23 15 36 5 0 12 0 0 16 0 16 12 14 2 12 50
Environment/
climate
certif ied
0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 6 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 9 13 0 0 2
Religious
slaughter 0 3 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 8 0 6 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 5 0 2 0 0 7
Other 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 4 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 2 1 25 0 4
Regular 64 50 72 50 64 48 60 42 50 71 43 83 66 25 43 66 32 70 33 54 63 73 67 49 71 51 53
Organic 20 16 0 0 0 21 17 0 5 3 9 10 0 0 29 0 9 0 1 36 1 8 5 22 5 1 32
Origin
certified12 39 1 0 5 70 19 47 33 10 32 32 23 76 21 0 14 5 22 11 2 10 5 30 3 24 68
Animal
w elfare
certified
1 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 5 6 3 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 12 0 2 0 4 0 0 18
Environment/
climate
certif ied
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 10 0 0 2
Religious
slaughter 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 4
Total per
country299 450 310 193 258 507 471 338 447 408 386 642 289 580 464 261 247 259 286 473 203 418 344 466 377 316 878
Minced
beef
Pork
sausages
Whole
chicken
Pork
cutlets
5
3.2 Products purchased by assessors
Assessors were asked to purchase one of the products they assessed at the end of each visit and to
state why they chose this specific product.
The proportion of each product category that mystery shoppers bought is shown below. The mystery
shoppers’ comments can be found in annex.
Figure 2. Share of each product category among products bought by mystery shoppers - By
country
Minced Beef Pork cutlets Pork sausages Whole chicken
Austria 39% 36% 11% 15%
Belgium 24% 23% 28% 25%
Bulgaria 25% 28% 25% 21%
Cyprus 24% 26% 26% 24%
Czech Republic 27% 28% 21% 24%
Germany 27% 26% 23% 24%
Denmark 45% 21% 28% 5%
Estonia 28% 25% 24% 23%
Greece 28% 24% 23% 25%
Spain 31% 29% 24% 16%
Finland 77% 7% 15% 1%
France 35% 19% 25% 21%
Hungary 25% 27% 24% 24%
Ireland 24% 16% 45% 15%
Italy 40% 17% 25% 17%
Lithuania 29% 25% 43% 3%
Luxembourg 46% 16% 30% 8%
Latvia 40% 20% 15% 25%
Malta 42% 16% 24% 18%
Netherlands 53% 24% 13% 9%
Poland 24% 48% 11% 17%
Portugal 27% 23% 25% 25%
Romania 21% 27% 27% 25%
Sweden 43% 13% 27% 17%
Slovenia 27% 25% 24% 24%
Slovakia 23% 25% 24% 28%
UK 31% 12% 40% 16%
Total 33% 23% 25% 19%
6
3.3 Availability of different product types
We first look at the breakdown of specific meat types by purchase channel to assess the availability of
different meat categories and types.
Please note that the proportions below represent the share of products assessed by mystery
shoppers, who had detailed instructions to prioritise certain types of meat (please see annex I for
details).
Most of the products assessed across all categories and retail channels were regular. Outdoor
markets and farms only displayed regular and origin certified meat, apart from whole chickens. 4% of
whole chicken products assessed in farms and markets were organic.
Origin certified products were the most widely available of the specific types. 32% of minced beef
products assessed by mystery shoppers in convenience stores were origin certified. This compares
with 37% for pork sausages and 32% for pork cutlets. The proportions of origin certified whole
chickens (32%) and pork sausages (34%) among the products assessed is also higher for
hypermarkets than for other channels.
Organic products were found in most retailers. The highest proportions were found in supermarkets
(18% of minced beef, 10% of pork sausages, 13% of whole chickens and 12% of pork cutlets). The
lowest proportions of organic products varied more per category and are respectively: 6% of organic
minced beef in butcher’s shops, 5% of organic pork sausages in both butcher’s shops and discount
stores, 6% of organic pork cutlets in discount stores and 4% of organic whole chicken in
markets/farms.
Other products were found in much smaller proportions, with the exception of animal welfare certified
chickens, which represent 12% of the products assessed in supermarkets and 10% in hypermarkets.
It is therefore possible to conclude that the availability of specific meat types varies across purchase
channels and between the types themselves, which may impact consumer choices.
7
Figure 3. Share of product types among the products assessed - By shop channel - Minced Beef
8
Figure 4. Share of product types among the products assessed - By shop channel – Pork sausages
9
Figure 5. Share of product types among the products assessed - By shop channel – W
hole chicken
10
Figure 6. Share of product types among the products assessed - By shop channel – Pork cutlets
11
The figures below present the share of each product type by country, within each m
eat category.
Figure 7. Share of product types among the products assessed - By country – M
inced beef
52
%
40
%
83
%
10
0%
10
0%
97
%
96
%
93
%
92
%
89
%
82
%
80
%
79
%
65
%
65
%
63
%
58
%
56
%
53
%
52
%
45
%
42
%
41
%
39
%
38
%
37
%
33
%
26
%
20
%
13
%
27
%
32
%
14
%
3%
3%
1%
7%
5%
5%
12
%
10
%
35
%
28
%
7% 1
9%
31
%
24
%
31
%
55
%
18
%
12
%
54
%
33
%
27
%
31
%
53
%
48
%
59
%
17
%
22
%
3%
1%
6% 5%
14
%
7%
3%
5%
28
%
21
%
10
%
12
%
14
%
37
%
33
%
5%
27
%
22
%
25
%
17
%
26
%
26
%
2%
3%
2%
3%
2%
2%
10
%
1% 3%
4%
7%
1%
1%
1%
0%
1%
2% 1%
1%
1%
9%
1%
0%
1%
1%
7%
1%
1%
1% 1%
4%
4%
2%1%
1% 0%
1%
2%
2% 2%
7%
1%
1%
1%
EU
27
EU
15
EU
12 LT CY
BG LV SI
MT
PL
CZ
RO ES
SK
HU AT
LU PT
FR
BE
EE
DK
NL
EL FI
SE IT DE
UK IE
Re
gu
lar
Ori
gin
ce
rtif
ied
Org
an
icA
nim
al
we
lfa
re c
ert
ifie
dE
nvir
on
me
nt/
clim
ate
ce
rtif
ied
Oth
er
Re
lig
iou
s S
lau
gh
ter
12
Figure 8. Share of product types among the products assessed - By country – Pork sausages
54
%
46
%
73
%
10
0%
10
0%
93
%
92
%
91
%
80
%
79
%
73
%
73
%
71
%
71
%
63
%
62
%
59
%
58
%
55
%
54
%
53
%
52
%
51
%
45
%
43
%
38
%
37
%
35
%
29
%
24
%
31
%
34
%
24
%
7%
8%
20
%
20
%
15
%
26
%
13
%
10
% 29
%
24
%
41
%
18
%
36
%
32
%
35
%
8%
31
%
55
%
24
%
31
%
54
%
56
%
55
%
42
%
9%
12
%
2%
9%
12
%
1%
12
%
4%
14
%
22
%
1%
9%
10
%
25
%
16
%
16
%
24
%
4%
6%
14
%
14
%
3%
4%
0%
2%
1%
2%
3%
2%
12
%
1%
5%
6%
2%
1%
14
%
1%
1%
1% 1%
2%
2%
1%
2%
1%
13
%
1%
1%
0%
2%
3% 1
%
1%
18
%
2%
5%
1% 1%
1%
1%
6%
1%
6%
EU
27
EU
15
EU
12 LT CY
CZ
LV PL
BG PT
AT
MT
RO ES
HU
DK SI LU SK BE
FR NL FI EE
SE IT IE EL
DE
UK
Re
gu
lar
Ori
gin
ce
rtif
ied
Org
an
icA
nim
al
we
lfa
re c
ert
ifie
dE
nvir
on
me
nt/
clim
ate
ce
rtif
ied
Oth
er
13
Figure 9. Share of product types among the products assessed - By country – W
hole chicken
44
%
35
%
61
%
10
0%
97
%
94
%
86
%
76
%
71
%
64
%
59
%
56
%
53
%
50
%
47
%
47
%
46
%
43
%
42
%
39
%
39
%
37
%
34
%
33
%
31
%
31
%
29
%
21
%
20
%
12
%
29
%
31
%
25
%
5%
9%
5%
22
%
15
% 28
%
42
%
6%
10
%
22
%
24
%
39
%
10
%
30
%
25
%
61
%
33
%
26
%
39
%
41
%
25
%
39
%
33
%
75
%
48
%
12
%
16
%
5%
3% 2
%
4%
19
%
4%
21
%
11
%
2%
2%
25
% 7%
9%
3%
25
%
17
%
20
%
15
%
29
%
5%
14
%
17
%
14
%
20
%
3%
13
%
10
%
14
%
4%
33
%
12
%
2%
10
%
12
%
18
%
9%
15
%
9%
5%
16
%
10
%
13
%
18
%
21
%
21
%
1% 1%
1%
2%
2%
8%
1%
3%
2%
5%
12
%
1% 4
%
2%
1% 3
%
4%
1%
22
%
2%
1% 1%
2%
1% 1
%
2%
1% 2%1%
2%
6%
4% 2
% 2%
2%
4% 3
% 2%
3% 1
%
EU
27
EU
15
EU
12
CY LT LV PL
CZ
MT
AT FI
BG ES
PT SI
RO SK NL
DK
LU EE
BE IT
HU FR SE EL
UK
DE IE
Re
gu
lar
Ori
gin
ce
rtif
ied
Org
an
icA
nim
al
we
lfa
re c
ert
ifie
dE
nvi
ron
me
nt/
clim
ate
ce
rtif
ied
Oth
er
Re
ligio
us
Sla
ug
hte
r
14
Figure 10. Share of product types among the products assessed - By country – Pork cutlets
61
%
50
%
82
%
10
0%
10
0%
99
%
95
%
93
%
93
%
90
%
85
%
78
%
77
%
74
%
66
%
66
%
63
%
60
%
59
%
57
%
57
%
48
%
47
%
47
%
45
%
44
%
43
%
34
%
30
%
23
%
25
%
30
%
16
%
1%
3%
7%
7%
4%
6%
11
%
11
%
26
%
31
%
12
%
24
%
19
%
39
%
25
%
38
%
36
%
53
%
10
%
35
%
21
% 26
%
50
%
38
%
70
%
10
%
15
%
1% 2%
6%
6%
9%
3%
1%
21
%
8%
17
%
2%
16
%
6%
10
%
31
%
15
%
30
%
19
%
15
%
18
%
2%
4%
2%
5%
1%
2%
4%
7%
10
%
1% 4
%
3%
10
%
1%
1%
1%
2%
2%
1%
9%
1%
1%
1% 0
%
3% 2% 1%
2%
3% 1
%
1%
2%
6%
EU
27
EU
15
EU
12 LT CY
BG PL
LV CZ SI
RO PT
ES
HU SK
AT
FR
DK
MT
LU EL FI
EE
NL
BE IT SE
DE
UK IE
Re
gu
lar
Ori
gin
ce
rtif
ied
Org
an
icA
nim
al
we
lfa
re c
ert
ifie
dE
nvi
ron
me
nt/
clim
ate
ce
rtif
ied
Oth
er
15
52% of minced beef products assessed within the EU27 were regular products, compared with 40%
in the EU15 and 83% in the EU12 countries.
This is linked to higher proportions of specific meat types being assessed in the EU15: 32% of origin
certified minced beef compared with 14% in the EU12 and 22% of organic products compared with 3%
in the EU12.
100% of all minced beef assessed in Latvia and Cyprus was regular. Estonia (55%), Greece (54%)
and Germany (53%) had the highest proportion of origin certified minced beef, while Denmark had the
highest proportion of organic beef (37%).
Similarly, 46% of pork sausages in the EU15 were regular, compared with 73% in the EU12. 34% of
pork sausages assessed in the EU15 were origin certified, while this figure was 24% in the EU12.
These proportions are respectively 12% and 2% for organic pork sausages.
All pork sausage products in Latvia and Cyprus were regular products. Greece (56%), Estonia and
Germany (both 55%) and Ireland (54%) have the highest proportion of origin certified sausages, while
the Netherlands (25%) and Italy (24%) top the ranking for organic sausages.
35% of EU15 whole chickens were regular, while this was the case for 61% of EU12 chickens. 31%
of EU15 chickens were origin certified and 16% were organic. These proportions are respectively 25%
and 5% in EU12 countries. All products assessed in Cyprus were regular. Germany (75%) had the
highest proportion of origin certified products and Italy the highest proportion of organic products
(29%).
50% of EU15 pork cutlets were regular, compared with 82% in the EU12. 30% of EU15 and 16% of
EU12 pork cutlets were origin certified. These proportions were 15% and 1% for organic products.
100% of all products assessed in Latvia and Cyprus were regular. Ireland (70%) had the highest
proportion of origin certified products, while the Netherlands (31%) and Italy (30%) had the highest
proportion of organic pork cutlets.
These results tend to show that the availability of specific meat types varies widely across the EU. The
level of product differentiation appears lower in the EU12 countries and in some specific countries.
16
4 Prices
Mystery shoppers were asked to record price information for each product they assessed.
4.1 Availability of information on product price
Standard product prices were available for 90% of records gathered – a product price was available
for 100% of products assessed in Cyprus. The lowest proportions were 59% in Greece and 56% in
Sweden.
Figure 11. Share of products for which standard price information was available - By country
90%
88%
93%
100%
99%
98%
98%
98%
98%
97%
97%
96%
96%
96%
95%
95%
94%
94%
93%
92%
92%
90%
89%
89%
88%
82%
81%
81%
59%
56%
10%
12%
7%
0%
1%
2%
2%
2%
2%
3%
3%
4%
4%
4%
5%
5%
6%
6%
7%
8%
8%
10%
11%
11%
12%
18%
19%
19%
41%
44%
EU27
EU15
EU12
CY
PL
AT
ES
BE
LT
HU
SK
BG
CZ
PT
SI
UK
MT
FR
FI
DE
DK
EE
LU
IE
NL
RO
LV
IT
EL
SE
Yes No
17
4.2
Average product prices
At EU27 level the average price of meat was €6.20 per kilo – the m
ost expensive country w
as Finland (€8.74 per kilo) and the least expensive w
as R
omania
(€3.57 per kilo). Prices in D
enmark and Luxembourg w
ere also over €8 per kilo on average. Prices in the E
U12 w
ere lower than average at €4.48 per kilo,
while the average price in the EU15 w
as €7.07. Meat from m
arkets/farm
s w
as the cheapest at €4.74 per kilo although data w
as not availa
ble in 19 countries,
and it is notable that it tended to be lower income countries that provided prices for markets/farm
s. Meat from discount stores w
as the next cheapest at €5.11
per kilo. Meat from butchers w
as the m
ost expensive at €6.44 per kilo, followed by convenience stores w
ith €6.43 per kilo. At individual country level, the
highest prices w
ere found in French butchers (€12.95 per kilo) and the lowest in H
ungarian convenience stores (€2.82 per kilo).
18
Figure 12. Mean m
eat price per kilogram - By retailer channel – All m
eat categories
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
EU27
6,06 €
3482
6,36 €
5285
6,43 €
371
5,11 €
379
6,44 €
451
4,74 €
97
6,20 €
10065
EU15
7,17 €
2138
7,02 €
3808
7,48 €
226
5,72 €
244
7,92 €
252
7,55 €
28
7,07 €
6696
EU12
4,30 €
1344
4,68 €
1477
4,79 €
145
4,01 €
135
4,57 €
199
3,60 €
69
4,48 €
3369
Austria
8,19 €
126
7,13 €
104
7,91 €
16
6,99 €
22
8,50 €
18
9,70 €
13
7,80 €
299
Belgium
7,44 €
125
7,76 €
263
7,18 €
28
5,39 €
14
9,48 €
17
.0
7,62 €
447
Bulgaria
3,63 €
143
3,63 €
146
3,15 €
6.
03,81 €
15
.0
3,63 €
310
Cyprus
6,03 €
56
6,27 €
96
6,95 €
18
.0
6,90 €
20
.0
6,33 €
190
Czech
Republic
4,31 €
135
4,39 €
89
4,85 €
83,51 €
83,83 €
15
.0
4,30 €
255
Germ
any
7,43 €
207
7,01 €
118
5,96 €
44
4,59 €
40
9,65 €
18
.0
6,99 €
427
Denmark
8,44 €
76
8,99 €
294
7,47 €
46,60 €
41
9,07 €
20
.0
8,66 €
435
Estonia
5,05 €
84
5,21 €
184
5,20 €
15
3,94 €
15
4,83 €
10
3,84 €
95,06 €
317
Greece
7,49 €
115
7,23 €
277
.0
.0
6,64 €
24
.0
7,27 €
416
Spain
6,12 €
124
4,37 €
209
6,52 €
13
4,91 €
28
5,92 €
19
5,69 €
15
5,13 €
408
Finland
9,04 €
150
8,43 €
144
8,89 €
67
8,00 €
13
.0
.0
8,74 €
374
France
7,89 €
399
8,00 €
204
.0
5,38 €
23
12,95 €
15
.0
7,95 €
641
Hungary
4,09 €
183
3,40 €
54
2,82 €
54,03 €
16
3,17 €
16
4,19 €
12
3,89 €
286
Ireland
5,88 €
112
6,30 €
349
.0
.0
6,67 €
24
.0
6,22 €
485
Italy
6,78 €
108
7,03 €
242
6,09 €
25
4,95 €
10
7,94 €
16
.0
6,89 €
401
Lithuania
3,98 €
36
3,73 €
180
3,79 €
16
.0
2,95 €
13
3,34 €
15
3,70 €
260
Luxembourg
8,48 €
16
8,36 €
190
8,21 €
75,28 €
11
8,50 €
21
.0
8,24 €
245
Latvia
4,32 €
91
4,31 €
100
4,23 €
17
3,98 €
18
4,10 €
10
3,79 €
15
4,25 €
251
Malta
.0
5,01 €
232
.0
5,03 €
85,28 €
39
.0
5,05 €
279
Netherlands
.0
7,16 €
429
.0
6,07 €
16
9,73 €
22
.0
7,24 €
467
Poland
3,69 €
67
3,75 €
93
3,95 €
11
3,43 €
15
3,99 €
10
2,94 €
73,70 €
203
Portugal
5,09 €
195
4,38 €
188
.0
4,18 €
83,73 €
23
.0
4,67 €
414
Romania
3,61 €
256
3,31 €
12
3,31 €
16
3,57 €
19
3,63 €
15
3,29 €
11
3,57 €
329
Sweden
7,72 €
132
8,05 €
246
8,69 €
19
6,04 €
18
.0
.0
7,89 €
415
Slovenia
5,91 €
95
5,80 €
225
7,61 €
15
4,53 €
19
5,55 €
22
.0
5,82 €
376
Slovakia
4,56 €
198
4,35 €
66
4,29 €
18
4,28 €
17
3,95 €
14
.0
4,46 €
313
UK
6,01 €
253
6,07 €
551
4,79 €
3.
06,30 €
15
.0
6,05 €
822
All
Hyperm
arket
Superm
arket
Convenience Store
Discount Store
Butchers
Markets/Farm
s
19
At the E
U27 level the average price of minced beef was €7.24 per kilo – the m
ost expensive country w
as France (€10.04 per kilo) and the cheapest was
Poland (€3.71 per kilo). Prices in the EU15 w
ere higher on average w
ith €8.07 per kilo, compared w
ith €5.19 in the EU12.
Minced beef from discount stores w
as the cheapest at €6.20 per kilo. The m
ost expensive m
inced beef was found in butchers at €8.15 per kilo. Overall, the
cheapest minced beef was found in butchers in Hungary (€2.76 per kilo) and the m
ost expensive in butchers in France (€18.43 per kilo).
Figure 13. Mean m
eat price per kilogram - By retailer channel – Minced beef
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
EU27
7,10 €
858
7,33 €
1353
7,40 €
98
6,20 €
92
8,15 €
104
6,29 €
25
7,24 €
2530
EU15
8,29 €
563
7,93 €
1028
8,30 €
68
6,78 €
67
9,29 €
67
9,97 €
88,07 €
1801
EU12
4,85 €
295
5,45 €
325
5,38 €
30
4,66 €
25
6,09 €
37
4,56 €
17
5,19 €
729
Austria
8,74 €
43
8,23 €
28
8,47 €
48,05 €
68,78 €
512,95 €
48,71 €
90
Belgium
8,07 €
24
8,34 €
49
8,01 €
77,08 €
210,39 €
4.
08,31 €
86
Bulgaria
4,36 €
30
4,33 €
29
4,45 €
1.
05,49 €
3.
04,40 €
63
Cyprus
6,60 €
14
6,58 €
22
6,89 €
3.
08,31 €
5.
06,81 €
44
Czech
Republic
4,78 €
36
5,10 €
24
5,28 €
1.
05,48 €
3.
04,94 €
64
Germ
any
7,33 €
51
8,75 €
30
6,78 €
11
4,98 €
10
9,77 €
6.
07,58 €
108
Denmark
9,70 €
20
9,83 €
95
8,71 €
27,78 €
12
8,02 €
6.
09,53 €
135
Estonia
5,61 €
23
6,25 €
44
6,17 €
44,48 €
54,95 €
14,63 €
35,87 €
80
Greece
9,00 €
26
8,56 €
62
.0
.0
9,30 €
6.
08,73 €
94
Spain
7,46 €
26
5,73 €
44
7,12 €
56,58 €
67,79 €
46,99 €
46,52 €
89
Finland
9,01 €
49
8,73 €
55
8,96 €
25
7,37 €
6.
0.
08,82 €
135
France
10,27 €
93
9,16 €
44
.0
7,34 €
618,43 €
4.
010,04 €
147
Hungary
4,76 €
42
3,48 €
7.
04,28 €
12,76 €
16,27 €
44,66 €
55
Ireland
6,45 €
38
7,35 €
99
.0
.0
10,03 €
6.
07,22 €
143
Italy
7,97 €
35
8,29 €
74
6,75 €
85,73 €
27,75 €
4.
08,04 €
123
Lithuania
4,69 €
94,66 €
39
4,44 €
4.
0.
04,62 €
24,65 €
54
Luxembourg
10,05 €
49,67 €
43
9,39 €
27,48 €
29,92 €
5.
09,63 €
56
Latvia
4,87 €
23
4,59 €
28
4,54 €
44,92 €
53,93 €
24,09 €
44,66 €
66
Malta
.0
6,38 €
59
.0
7,03 €
37,40 €
11
.0
6,56 €
73
Netherlands
.0
7,18 €
135
.0
5,87 €
89,18 €
8.
07,21 €
151
Poland
3,74 €
17
3,78 €
27
3,80 €
32,86 €
44,26 €
42,84 €
23,71 €
57
Portugal
7,43 €
52
6,20 €
40
.0
5,98 €
24,99 €
5.
06,78 €
99
Romania
4,35 €
48
4,24 €
23,42 €
43,44 €
23,53 €
23,68 €
24,20 €
60
Sweden
8,65 €
42
9,22 €
83
14,74 €
37,05 €
5.
0.
09,08 €
133
Slovenia
5,87 €
18
6,44 €
41
7,11 €
35,18 €
55,73 €
4.
06,19 €
71
Slovakia
4,98 €
35
5,85 €
37,98 €
3.
06,95 €
1.
05,30 €
42
UK
6,50 €
60
6,18 €
147
5,48 €
1.
07,53 €
4.
06,30 €
212
All
Hyp
erm
arket
Superm
arket
Conve
nience Store
Discount Store
Butchers
Markets/Farm
s
20
At an overall EU27 level the average price for pork sausages w
as €6.39 per kilo – the m
ost expensive country w
as A
ustria (€10.10 per kilo) and the
cheapest was Lithuania (€3.44 per kilo). Prices in the EU15 w
ere highest on average at €7.00 per kilo. Prices in the EU12 w
ere the lowest at €5.14 per kilo.
Pork sausages from m
arkets/farm
s w
ere the cheapest at €4.66 per kilo. The m
ost expensive pork sausages w
ere found in convenience stores at €6.96 per
kilo. Prices ranged from €2.67 per kilo in Lithuanian butchers to €11.79 per kilo in Austrian convenience stores.
Figure 14. Mean m
eat price per kilogram - By retailer channel – Pork sausages
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
EU27
6,21 €
772
6,57 €
1251
6,96 €
88
5,00 €
85
6,48 €
111
4,66 €
16
6,39 €
2323
EU15
6,98 €
483
7,05 €
892
7,28 €
58
5,46 €
58
7,71 €
61
6,47 €
67,00 €
1558
EU12
4,93 €
289
5,37 €
359
6,36 €
30
4,01 €
27
4,98 €
50
3,57 €
10
5,14 €
765
Austria
11,10 €
10
10,00 €
911,79 €
15,52 €
29,65 €
39,90 €
110,10 €
26
Belgium
7,96 €
24
8,12 €
54
7,54 €
56,74 €
48,95 €
5.
08,03 €
92
Bulgaria
3,86 €
21
3,84 €
31
.0
.0
3,34 €
4.
03,81 €
56
Cyprus
8,84 €
14
9,66 €
25
10,68 €
5.
09,56 €
5.
09,52 €
49
Czech
Republic
3,86 €
22
4,06 €
19
.0
.0
3,71 €
3.
03,93 €
44
Germ
any
7,17 €
48
7,09 €
38
5,81 €
11
4,14 €
13
10,16 €
6.
06,83 €
116
Denmark
7,02 €
12
8,71 €
61
7,27 €
15,45 €
99,32 €
6.
08,18 €
89
Estonia
5,30 €
20
5,83 €
48
6,33 €
3.
05,27 €
25,10 €
15,68 €
74
Greece
8,48 €
33
9,16 €
72
.0
.0
5,59 €
6.
08,77 €
111
Spain
5,85 €
34
4,73 €
47
7,77 €
36,46 €
77,51 €
45,79 €
55,48 €
100
Finland
7,50 €
41
7,33 €
41
7,69 €
24
7,94 €
4.
0.
07,50 €
110
France
8,84 €
85
10,67 €
41
.0
5,29 €
411,13 €
4.
09,36 €
134
Hungary
4,42 €
29
3,68 €
5.
04,64 €
53,25 €
63,42 €
34,16 €
48
Ireland
4,63 €
29
5,90 €
76
.0
.0
4,24 €
6.
05,48 €
111
Italy
7,20 €
28
6,82 €
63
7,03 €
64,87 €
27,17 €
3.
06,91 €
102
Lithuania
3,46 €
93,50 €
49
3,34 €
4.
02,67 €
43,56 €
33,44 €
69
Luxembourg
8,97 €
49,44 €
43
.0
6,35 €
38,80 €
5.
09,18 €
55
Latvia
4,10 €
21
4,35 €
21
4,39 €
23,42 €
33,86 €
2.
04,17 €
49
Malta
.0
4,44 €
59
.0
3,58 €
25,05 €
9.
04,49 €
70
Netherlands
.0
6,47 €
104
.0
4,98 €
48,81 €
4.
06,50 €
112
Poland
4,30 €
10
3,36 €
11
5,24 €
14,60 €
1.
0.
03,90 €
23
Portugal
5,07 €
37
5,29 €
43
.0
4,78 €
14,52 €
5.
05,14 €
86
Romania
3,61 €
60
3,63 €
33,46 €
43,38 €
73,79 €
43,21 €
33,58 €
81
Sweden
6,36 €
31
6,34 €
54
7,62 €
64,90 €
5.
0.
06,35 €
96
Slovenia
7,44 €
27
7,46 €
67
9,51 €
64,29 €
46,97 €
7.
07,42 €
111
Slovakia
5,74 €
56
5,64 €
21
4,02 €
54,46 €
54,70 €
4.
05,51 €
91
UK
5,17 €
67
5,56 €
146
5,65 €
1.
05,67 €
4.
05,44 €
218
Hyp
erm
arket
Superm
arket
Conve
nience Store
Discount Store
Butchers
Markets/Farm
sAll
21
At EU27 level the average price for whole chickens w
as €4.40 per kilo – the m
ost expensive country w
as Finland (€7.11 per kilo) and the cheapest was
Poland (€2.12 per kilo). Prices in the EU12 w
ere lowest on average at €2.99 per kilo, compared with €5.21 in the EU15.
Whole chickens from m
arkets/farm
s w
ere the cheapest at €2.97 per kilo. The m
ost expensive w
hole chicken w
as found in butchers w
ith €4.63 per kilo. The
cheapest whole chicken products w
ere found in discount stores in Poland (€1.70 per kilo) and the m
ost expensive in French butchers (€11.76).
Figure 15. Mean m
eat price per kilogram - By retailer channel – W
hole chicken
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
EU27
4,33 €
1038
4,56 €
1484
3,77 €
85
3,51 €
99
4,63 €
103
2,97 €
26
4,40 €
2835
EU15
5,36 €
606
5,16 €
1043
4,69 €
41
4,09 €
61
5,98 €
55
5,32 €
55,21 €
1811
EU12
2,89 €
432
3,14 €
441
2,91 €
44
2,57 €
38
3,08 €
48
2,41 €
21
2,99 €
1024
Austria
5,14 €
34
5,45 €
32
6,11 €
56,12 €
86,38 €
35,90 €
45,48 €
86
Belgium
6,26 €
49
6,36 €
95
3,98 €
72,88 €
48,05 €
4.
06,18 €
159
Bulgaria
2,50 €
58
2,56 €
54
2,38 €
3.
02,57 €
3.
02,52 €
118
Cyprus
3,99 €
14
4,31 €
26
4,99 €
5.
04,68 €
5.
04,32 €
50
Czech
Republic
3,92 €
44
3,45 €
22
3,11 €
32,45 €
42,35 €
5.
03,58 €
78
Germ
any
6,38 €
50
2,85 €
21
3,97 €
10
3,16 €
6.
0.
05,03 €
87
Denmark
7,30 €
25
6,46 €
75
5,19 €
15,73 €
12
7,72 €
4.
06,60 €
117
Estonia
2,84 €
21
2,79 €
46
2,59 €
42,37 €
5.
02,52 €
32,76 €
79
Greece
5,67 €
31
5,58 €
86
.0
.0
4,87 €
6.
05,57 €
123
Spain
4,48 €
36
2,99 €
74
2,30 €
22,80 €
93,07 €
53,04 €
13,39 €
127
Finland
6,72 €
24
7,50 €
18
7,91 €
3.
0.
0.
07,11 €
45
France
5,95 €
142
6,20 €
76
.0
3,75 €
811,76 €
3.
06,03 €
229
Hungary
2,69 €
60
2,83 €
24
2,02 €
23,05 €
42,26 €
32,31 €
22,71 €
95
Ireland
4,56 €
26
4,62 €
102
.0
.0
4,11 €
7.
04,58 €
135
Italy
3,85 €
23
4,79 €
54
3,98 €
64,12 €
49,69 €
4.
04,69 €
91
Lithuania
2,96 €
92,82 €
49
2,60 €
4.
02,27 €
42,67 €
62,78 €
72
Luxembourg
7,98 €
56,56 €
61
7,32 €
32,46 €
37,07 €
6.
06,56 €
78
Latvia
2,58 €
23
2,48 €
23
2,60 €
52,57 €
52,54 €
12,62 €
52,54 €
62
Malta
.0
3,64 €
69
.0
3,43 €
23,59 €
12
.0
3,63 €
83
Netherlands
.0
5,73 €
88
.0
.0
9,38 €
2.
05,81 €
90
Poland
2,38 €
22
1,99 €
25
1,94 €
21,70 €
42,16 €
11,82 €
32,12 €
57
Portugal
3,10 €
63
2,55 €
62
.0
2,26 €
32,52 €
8.
02,80 €
136
Romania
2,57 €
92
2,06 €
52,11 €
52,22 €
42,01 €
31,94 €
22,49 €
111
Sweden
5,94 €
28
5,44 €
50
3,86 €
33,84 €
4.
0.
05,47 €
85
Slovenia
4,58 €
30
4,06 €
70
4,30 €
43,21 €
53,91 €
6.
04,16 €
115
Slovakia
2,44 €
59
2,55 €
28
2,49 €
72,47 €
52,38 €
5.
02,47 €
104
UK
4,48 €
70
4,60 €
149
3,23 €
1.
06,08 €
3.
04,58 €
223
All
Hyp
erm
arket
Superm
arket
Conve
nience Store
Discount Store
Butchers
Markets/Farm
s
22
At EU27 level the average price for pork cutlets w
as €7.06 per kilo – the m
ost expensive country w
as F
inland (€11.13 per kilo) and the cheapest was
Lithuania (€4.22 per kilo). P
rices in the E
U12 w
ere €5.07 per kilo on average, while the average for the E
U15 w
as €8.17. Pork cutlets from m
arkets/farm
s
were the cheapest at €5.03. The m
ost expensive pork cutlets w
ere found in superm
arkets at €7.29 per kilo. The cheapest pork cutlets overall were found in
Hungarian convenience stores (€3.35) and the m
ost expensive in Finnish hyperm
arkets (€12.38)
23
Figure 16. Mean m
eat price per kilogram - By retailer channel – Pork cutlets
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
EU27
7,02 €
814
7,29 €
1197
7,26 €
100
5,77 €
103
6,47 €
133
5,03 €
30
7,06 €
2377
EU15
8,31 €
486
8,17 €
845
8,66 €
59
6,47 €
58
8,32 €
69
7,36 €
98,17 €
1526
EU12
5,12 €
328
5,20 €
352
5,24 €
41
4,87 €
45
4,47 €
64
4,03 €
21
5,07 €
851
Austria
9,49 €
39
7,04 €
35
8,39 €
67,60 €
68,72 €
710,22 €
48,40 €
97
Belgium
8,52 €
28
9,05 €
65
8,84 €
95,71 €
410,66 €
4.
08,84 €
110
Bulgaria
4,77 €
34
4,61 €
32
3,64 €
2.
03,93 €
5.
04,61 €
73
Cyprus
4,70 €
14
4,52 €
23
5,21 €
5.
05,05 €
5.
04,70 €
47
Czech
Republic
4,62 €
33
4,83 €
24
6,06 €
44,57 €
44,52 €
4.
04,77 €
69
Germ
any
8,63 €
58
8,11 €
29
6,99 €
12
5,53 €
11
9,01 €
6.
08,05 €
116
Denmark
9,48 €
19
11,00 €
63
.0
7,43 €
811,63 €
4.
010,42 €
94
Estonia
6,50 €
20
5,99 €
46
5,99 €
44,97 €
54,69 €
74,00 €
25,90 €
84
Greece
6,85 €
25
5,86 €
57
.0
.0
6,82 €
6.
06,21 €
88
Spain
7,34 €
28
4,96 €
44
7,10 €
34,58 €
65,99 €
65,07 €
55,80 €
92
Finland
12,38 €
36
9,93 €
30
10,89 €
15
9,33 €
3.
0.
011,13 €
84
France
7,56 €
79
7,43 €
43
.0
5,71 €
510,18 €
4.
07,53 €
131
Hungary
4,97 €
52
4,05 €
18
3,35 €
34,15 €
63,60 €
63,45 €
34,53 €
88
Ireland
8,44 €
19
7,66 €
72
.0
.0
9,13 €
5.
07,89 €
96
Italy
7,41 €
22
7,82 €
51
6,43 €
55,91 €
27,16 €
5.
07,55 €
85
Lithuania
4,80 €
94,17 €
43
4,80 €
4.
03,72 €
53,54 €
44,22 €
65
Luxembourg
6,58 €
38,53 €
43
8,37 €
25,57 €
38,50 €
5.
08,26 €
56
Latvia
5,67 €
24
5,52 €
28
5,34 €
64,79 €
54,59 €
54,56 €
65,37 €
74
Malta
.0
6,07 €
45
.0
5,12 €
15,14 €
7.
05,93 €
53
Netherlands
.0
9,07 €
102
.0
7,57 €
410,82 €
8.
09,14 €
114
Poland
4,91 €
18
5,31 €
30
4,58 €
54,75 €
64,15 €
54,71 €
24,99 €
66
Portugal
5,17 €
43
4,43 €
43
.0
4,98 €
23,64 €
5.
04,74 €
93
Romania
4,68 €
56
5,05 €
24,95 €
34,75 €
64,37 €
63,82 €
44,64 €
77
Sweden
9,42 €
31
10,18 €
59
9,09 €
78,41 €
4.
0.
09,80 €
101
Slovenia
5,86 €
20
5,47 €
47
9,26 €
25,38 €
55,36 €
5.
05,65 €
79
Slovakia
5,50 €
48
5,70 €
14
5,27 €
35,44 €
74,41 €
4.
05,47 €
76
UK
8,42 €
56
8,59 €
109
.0
.0
5,86 €
4.
08,47 €
169
Hyp
erm
arket
Superm
arket
Conve
nience Store
Discount Store
Butchers
Markets/Farm
sAll
24
4.3
Regular vs specific prices
Regular meat was the cheapest meat category (€5.40 per kilo). Prices for regular meat ranged from €3.69 per kilo in Poland to €8.10 per kilo in Finland.
Across the E
U27, organic w
as the m
ost expensive m
eat category (€8.97 per kilo). O
rganic w
as not found by assessors in C
yprus or Estonia. Prices for
organic m
eat ranged from €2.47 per kilo in Bulgaria to €12.28 per kilo in G
reece.
Environment/climate certified m
eat was found in all countries but Denmark, France, Austria, Cyprus, Slovenia, Estonia, Malta, Czech R
epublic, Latvia,
Lithuania and Bulgaria. Prices for environment/clim
ate certified m
eat ranged from €2.48 per kilo in Romania to €13.08 per kilo in the N
etherlands.
Anim
al welfare certified products w
ere on average €6.47 per kilo, with prices ranging from €3.09 per kilo in Slovakia to €13.30 per kilo in G
erm
any. Anim
al
welfare products w
ere availa
ble in all countries except Cyprus, Estonia, Malta, Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Bulgaria.
Origin certified products w
ere on average €6.44 per kilo w
ith prices ranging from €2.96 per kilo in R
omania to €8.62 per kilo in D
enmark. No origin certified
products w
ere found by assessors in C
yprus or Lithuania.
Overall, the highest price across m
eat categories w
as found in G
erm
any for anim
al welfare certified products (€13.30 per kilo) and the lowest was also
recorded in G
erm
any, for religiously slaughtered m
eat (€2.39 per kilo).
25
Figure 17. Mean m
eat price per kilogram - By m
eat type – All m
eat categories
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
EU27
€6.47
462
€8.37
100
€8.97
1,218
€6.44
2,716
€5.93
144
€5.40
5,368
€5.68
57
€6.20
10,065
EU15
€6.77
419
€9.51
83
€9.31
1,118
€7.03
2,056
€6.53
103
€6.24
2,862
€5.67
55
€7.07
6,696
EU12
€3.53
43
€2.78
17
€5.17
100
€4.59
660
€4.44
41
€4.45
2,506
€6.10
2€4.48
3,369
Austria
€9.99
1€9.98
66
€7.33
35
€7.13
195
€7.98
2€7.80
299
Belgium
€9.14
21
€7.63
6€10.36
60
€8.00
147
€8.18
7€6.43
203
€3.39
3€7.62
447
Bulgaria
€2.47
2€2.97
64
€3.81
244
€3.63
310
Cyprus
€6.33
190
€6.33
190
Czech Republic
€7.31
23
€3.66
15
€4.03
217
€4.30
255
Denmark
€8.07
19
€11.78
99
€8.62
96
€7.33
221
0€8.66
435
Estonia
€5.08
172
€5.03
145
€5.06
317
Finland
€9.80
9€3.41
2€10.89
66
€8.51
123
€8.10
174
€8.74
374
France
€8.81
33
€11.75
73
€7.87
207
€6.92
7€7.07
304
€7.24
17
€7.95
641
Germ
any
€13.30
1€8.99
1€10.35
58
€6.67
239
€7.78
8€5.90
119
€2.39
1€6.99
427
Greece
€6.27
26
€8.70
1€12.28
33
€6.95
188
€6.79
168
€7.27
416
Hungary
€3.60
15
€2.67
6€3.96
10
€3.92
89
€3.18
3€3.95
163
€3.89
286
Ireland
€5.23
34
€5.37
5€9.00
61
€5.96
260
€6.27
17
€5.61
108
€6.22
485
Italy
€6.71
18
€7.21
4€6.62
120
€7.71
108
€7.90
3€6.48
142
€6.63
6€6.89
401
Latvia
€3.95
2€4.73
13
€4.22
236
€4.25
251
Lithuania
€3.68
2€3.70
258
€3.70
260
Luxembourg
€6.76
13
€10.46
1€11.56
49
€7.89
54
€7.24
127
€8.62
1€8.24
245
Malta
€4.80
5€4.73
59
€3.27
3€5.16
211
€6.00
1€5.05
279
Netherlands
€8.23
56
€13.08
6€8.34
137
€6.96
47
€9.83
4€6.12
213
€7.68
4€7.24
467
Poland
€2.50
1€4.50
8€3.40
10
€3.69
184
€3.70
203
Portugal
€3.78
20
€11.34
1€5.83
53
€6.55
72
€3.98
1€3.99
262
€3.57
5€4.67
414
Romania
€3.69
14
€2.48
8€3.32
26
€2.96
50
€3.63
4€3.76
226
€6.21
1€3.57
329
Slovakia
€3.09
12
€4.44
2€4.03
5€4.27
112
€7.20
6€4.59
176
€4.46
313
Slovenia
€4.49
2€7.23
17
€7.34
76
€4.20
25
€5.44
256
€5.82
376
Spain
€4.53
48
€11.73
2€9.17
8€7.93
36
€5.57
27
€4.72
279
€3.21
8€5.13
408
Sweden
€7.21
24
€10.53
48
€9.05
76
€7.68
107
€4.39
1€6.79
157
€7.64
2€7.89
415
UK
€6.39
96
€5.74
6€7.90
159
€5.66
337
€6.28
28
€5.07
190
€3.71
6€6.05
822
TOTAL
Anim
al welfare certified
Environment/climate certified
Organic
Origin certified
Other
Regular
Religious slaughter
26
Regular was the cheapest minced beef category (€6.33 per kilo). P
rices for regular minced beef ranged from €3.64 per kilo in P
oland to €9.56 per kilo in
France.
Environment/clim
ate certified and organic were the most
expensive minced beef
categories (€10.18 and €9.55 per
kilo respectively).
Environment/clim
ate certified m
inced beef was not found by assessors in any of the E
U12 countries. Prices for environment/clim
ate certified m
inced beef
ranged from €3.51 per kilo in the U
K to €12.85 per kilo in the N
etherlands. The cheapest minced beef was origin certified beef in Poland (€3.42) and the m
ost
expensive w
as organic beef in G
reece (€21.13).
Figure 18. Mean m
eat price per kilogram - By m
eat type – M
inced beef
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
EU27
€8.52
46
€10.18
20
€9.55
416
€7.40
667
€7.14
26
€6.33
1,333
€8.54
22
€7.24
2,53
EU15
€8.52
46
€10.18
20
€9.75
393
€7.73
571
€7.14
26
€7.36
725
€8.79
20
€8.07
1,801
EU12
€0.00
0€0.00
0€6.25
23
€5.45
96
€0.00
0€5.10
608
€6.10
2€5.19
729
Austria
€9.46
25
€8.23
6€8.46
57
€7.98
2€8.71
90
Belgium
€11.93
2€10.56
12
€8.41
26
€7.99
1€7.49
45
€8.31
86
Bulgaria
€4.58
2€4.39
61
€4.40
63
Cyprus
€6.81
44
€6.81
44
Czech Republic
€5.81
8€4.74
3€4.82
53
€4.94
64
Denmark
€7.55
3€11.53
49
€9.88
24
€7.83
59
€9.53
135
Estonia
€6.10
43
€5.62
37
€5.87
80
Finland
€7.88
3€10.60
36
€8.72
45
€7.70
51
€8.82
135
France
€9.21
4€14.52
17
€9.44
36
€7.90
1€9.56
78
€8.94
11
€10.04
147
Germ
any
€9.75
20
€7.25
55
€9.53
4€6.47
29
€7.58
108
Greece
€6.48
1€8.70
1€21.13
3€8.34
51
€8.33
38
€8.73
94
Hungary
0€5.75
3€4.89
15
€4.48
37
€4.66
55
Ireland
€10.03
39
€6.18
82
€5.30
2€6.21
20
€7.22
143
Italy
€7.35
7€7.13
2€7.58
33
€8.97
38
€9.95
1€7.53
40
€10.40
2€8.04
123
Latvia
€5.23
1€4.84
2€4.64
63
€4.66
66
Lithuania
€4.65
54
€4.65
54
Luxembourg
€12.12
12
€10.14
10
€8.61
33
€8.62
1€9.63
56
Malta
€6.48
5€6.57
67
€6.00
1€6.56
73
Netherlands
€8.42
16
€12.85
2€8.15
49
€6.57
18
€8.43
2€6.09
62
€8.37
2€7.21
151
Poland
€5.13
3€3.42
3€3.64
51
€3.71
57
Portugal
€9.91
2€11.34
1€9.46
10
€7.92
31
€5.45
55
€6.78
99
Romania
€3.93
4€3.96
7€4.22
48
€6.21
1€4.20
60
Slovakia
€5.10
15
€5.41
27
€5.30
42
Slovenia
€10.93
4€8.18
1€5.88
66
€6.19
71
Spain
€10.95
1€10.95
3€7.75
9€6.25
6€6.13
70
€6.52
89
Sweden
€10.49
5€10.76
12
€10.11
31
€9.16
36
€7.83
47
€7.64
2€9.08
133
UK
€6.65
3€3.51
1€7.18
54
€6.13
104
€6.30
9€5.60
41
€6.30
212
Anim
al welfare certified
Environment/climate certified
Organic
Origin certified
Other
Regular
Religious slaughter
TOTAL
27
Regular was the cheapest pork sausage category (€5.67 per kilo) and availa
ble in all countries. Prices for regular pork sausages ranged from €3.44 per kilo
in Lithuania to €9.58 per kilo in Austria. Organic w
as the m
ost expensive pork sausage type w
ith an average price of €8.98. Prices for organic pork sausages
ranged from €3.06 per kilo in Hungary to €15.63 per kilo in G
reece.
Figure 19. Mean m
eat price per kilogram - By m
eat type – Pork sausages
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
EU27
€7.60
68
€8.32
23
€8.98
214
€6.76
673
€6.44
49
€5.67
1,296
€6.39
2,323
EU15
€7.74
66
€9.10
19
€9.31
200
€7.04
496
€6.36
43
€6.26
734
€7.00
1,558
EU12
€2.94
2€4.61
4€4.28
14
€5.98
177
€6.97
6€4.89
562
€5.14
765
Austria
€14.81
3€9.04
4€9.58
19
€10.10
26
Belgium
€9.88
3€10.79
1€11.54
8€7.74
30
€7.89
1€7.47
49
€8.03
92
Bulgaria
€4.16
11
€3.73
45
€3.81
56
Cyprus
€9.52
49
€9.52
49
Czech Republic
€3.29
3€3.98
41
€3.93
44
Denmark
€14.21
13
€9.08
20
€6.45
56
€8.18
89
Estonia
€5.56
39
€5.82
35
€5.68
74
Finland
€8.38
1€3.32
1€11.17
18
€7.67
35
€6.24
55
€7.50
110
France
€19.06
3€13.52
13
€9.96
46
€9.83
1€7.80
71
€9.36
134
Germ
any
€13.30
1€8.99
1€9.82
19
€6.37
61
€6.89
2€5.66
32
€6.83
116
Greece
€5.31
3€15.63
7€8.37
58
€8.43
43
€8.77
111
Hungary
€5.00
1€3.06
2€4.72
14
€5.13
1€3.91
30
€4.16
48
Ireland
€4.75
4€5.86
53
€5.66
6€5.09
48
€5.48
111
Italy
€6.33
6€8.90
1€6.79
28
€7.14
30
€7.45
1€6.84
36
€6.91
102
Latvia
€4.96
4€4.10
45
€4.17
49
Lithuania
€3.44
69
€3.44
69
Luxembourg
€6.92
1€11.74
12
€8.82
10
€8.40
32
€9.18
55
Malta
€3.19
1€4.75
17
€4.43
52
€4.49
70
Netherlands
€7.33
13
€12.26
1€6.96
29
€7.34
9€17.50
1€5.68
59
€6.50
112
Poland
€5.55
2€3.75
21
€3.90
23
Portugal
€6.70
17
€3.98
1€4.77
68
€5.14
86
Romania
€2.94
2€4.58
1€4.05
8€3.56
10
€3.52
60
€3.58
81
Slovakia
€4.44
2€7.09
1€5.34
33
€7.33
5€5.44
50
€5.51
91
Slovenia
€8.84
46
€6.41
65
€7.42
111
Spain
€2.50
1€6.92
10
€5.64
18
€5.29
71
€5.48
100
Sweden
€8.52
4€9.44
13
€5.86
15
€6.05
23
€5.51
41
€6.35
96
UK
€7.00
30
€5.97
1€7.37
31
€4.90
90
€6.48
12
€4.12
54
€5.44
218
TOTAL
Anim
al welfare certified
Environment/climate certified
Organic
Origin certified
Other
Regular
28
Regular whole chicken w
as the cheapest whole chicken category (€3.38 per kilo). Prices for regular whole chicken ranged from €2.06 per kilo in P
oland to
€7.19 per kilo in F
inland. Organic w
as the m
ost expensive w
hole chicken type w
ith €7.02 per kilo and w
as available in all countries except Cyprus and
Lithuania. Prices for organic w
hole chicken ranged from €2.06 per kilo in R
omania to €10.83 per kilo in Luxembourg.
Figure 20. Mean m
eat price per kilogram - By m
eat type – W
hole chicken
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
EU27
€5.32
296
€5.61
40
€7.02
352
€4.49
808
€4.11
47
€3.38
1,257
€3.89
35
€4.40
2,835
EU15
€5.60
255
€7.25
27
€7.36
302
€5.27
549
€4.67
15
€3.95
628
€3.89
35
€5.21
1,811
EU12
€3.56
41
€2.22
13
€4.97
50
€2.85
259
€3.86
32
€2.82
629
€0.00
0€2.99
1,024
Austria
€7.77
18
€4.72
13
€4.91
55
€5.48
86
Belgium
€8.46
15
€7.10
4€9.05
24
€7.25
52
€6.42
2€3.56
59
€3.39
3€6.18
159
Bulgaria
€2.47
2€2.61
50
€2.46
66
€2.52
118
Cyprus
€4.32
50
€4.32
50
Czech Republic
€8.11
15
€1.80
4€2.55
59
€3.58
78
Denmark
€7.03
12
€9.60
20
€6.62
36
€5.25
49
0€6.60
117
Estonia
€2.78
48
€2.73
31
€2.76
79
Finland
€3.49
1€9.18
5€6.43
13
€7.19
26
€7.11
45
France
€7.34
23
€9.49
33
€6.12
93
€5.00
2€4.10
72
€4.11
6€6.03
229
Germ
any
€8.60
2€5.36
66
€3.99
1€3.56
17
€2.39
1€5.03
87
Greece
€6.39
22
€10.13
18
€4.24
46
€4.51
37
€5.57
123
Hungary
€3.60
15
€2.20
5€3.25
5€2.62
37
€2.21
2€2.40
31
€2.71
95
Ireland
€5.23
34
€5.37
5€7.74
18
€3.53
59
€4.85
4€3.15
15
€4.58
135
Italy
€4.86
4€5.70
1€4.79
30
€5.21
24
€4.06
28
€4.75
4€4.69
91
Latvia
€2.68
1€3.50
2€2.51
59
€2.54
62
Lithuania
€3.68
2€2.75
70
€2.78
72
Luxembourg
€6.75
12
€10.83
16
€6.85
20
€4.02
30
€6.56
78
Malta
€4.56
3€3.96
18
€3.27
3€3.50
59
€3.63
83
Netherlands
€7.40
15
€6.49
1€6.30
23
€5.48
9€4.98
1€4.93
39
€7.00
2€5.81
90
Poland
€2.50
1€2.25
2€2.49
5€2.06
49
€2.12
57
Portugal
€3.08
16
€3.74
35
€2.98
14
€2.13
66
€3.57
5€2.80
136
Romania
€3.81
12
€2.19
7€2.06
9€2.15
28
€2.10
2€2.50
53
€2.49
111
Slovakia
€3.09
12
€2.66
3€2.48
41
€2.29
48
€2.47
104
Slovenia
€4.49
2€6.39
8€4.53
26
€4.20
25
€3.62
54
€4.16
115
Spain
€4.16
42
€8.20
2€6.47
7€2.39
1€2.49
67
€3.21
8€3.39
127
Sweden
€5.04
13
€8.93
13
€6.84
12
€4.49
21
€4.39
1€4.11
25
0€5.47
85
UK
€4.88
47
€4.31
2€6.19
46
€4.14
76
€4.00
3€3.47
43
€3.71
6€4.58
223
TOTAL
Anim
al welfare certified
Environment/climate certified
Organic
Origin certified
Other
Regular
Religious slaughter
29
Regular was the cheapest pork cutlet category (€6.06 per kilo). P
rices for regular pork cutlets ranged from €3.84 per kilo in P
ortugal to €11.58 per kilo in
Finland. Environment/clim
ate certified w
as the m
ost expensive pork cutlet type at €12.78 per kilo and w
as only found by assessors in 6 countries. Prices for
environment/clim
ate certified pork cutlets ranged from €6.59 per kilo in Belgium to €17.02 per kilo in the N
etherlands.
Figure 21. Mean m
eat price per kilogram - By m
eat type – Pork cutlets
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price per
Kg
Base size
Mean price
per Kg
Base size
EU27
€9.71
52
€12.78
17
€10.84
236
€7.69
568
€7.26
22
€6.06
1,482
€7.06
2,377
EU15
€9.71
52
€12.78
17
€11.18
223
€8.32
440
€7.52
19
€7.03
775
€8.17
1,526
EU12
€0.00
0€0.00
0€5.01
13
€5.52
128
€5.61
3€4.99
707
€5.07
851
Austria
€9.99
1€11.90
20
€9.14
12
€7.14
64
€8.40
97
Belgium
€11.54
1€6.59
1€11.58
16
€8.93
39
€9.50
3€7.84
50
€8.84
110
Bulgaria
€4.74
1€4.61
72
€4.61
73
Cyprus
€4.70
47
€4.70
47
Czech Republic
€4.73
5€4.77
64
€4.77
69
Denmark
€11.58
4€13.21
17
€10.63
16
€9.44
57
€10.42
94
Estonia
€6.23
42
€5.56
42
€5.90
84
Finland
€11.23
5€12.86
7€10.08
30
€11.58
42
€11.13
84
France
€9.32
3€12.18
10
€8.17
32
€6.90
3€6.67
83
€7.53
131
Germ
any
€11.88
17
€7.95
57
€6.38
1€6.65
41
€8.05
116
Greece
€10.06
5€6.08
33
€5.91
50
€6.21
88
Hungary
€4.88
23
€4.40
65
€4.53
88
Ireland
€7.94
66
€8.52
5€7.62
25
€7.89
96
Italy
€12.00
1€7.28
29
€9.57
16
€6.30
1€6.81
38
€7.55
85
Latvia
€4.98
5€5.39
69
€5.37
74
Lithuania
€4.22
65
€4.22
65
Luxembourg
€10.46
1€11.85
9€7.10
14
€7.68
32
€8.26
56
Malta
€7.12
1€4.98
19
€6.43
33
€5.93
53
Netherlands
€9.98
12
€17.02
2€11.01
36
€8.51
11
€7.52
53
€9.14
114
Poland
€5.05
1€5.66
2€4.97
63
€4.99
66
Portugal
€3.29
2€10.42
8€7.02
10
€3.84
73
€4.74
93
Romania
€3.93
5€4.90
5€5.15
2€4.66
65
€4.64
77
Slovakia
€5.09
1€5.40
23
€6.53
1€5.49
51
€5.47
76
Slovenia
€5.64
5€8.29
3€5.54
71
€5.65
79
Spain
€8.04
5€12.50
1€8.03
3€10.12
10
€4.50
2€4.89
71
€5.80
92
Sweden
€10.44
2€13.72
10
€11.34
18
€9.59
27
€8.38
44
€9.80
101
UK
€9.61
16
€8.18
2€12.69
28
€7.66
67
€7.35
4€6.98
52
€8.47
169
Anim
al welfare certified
Environment/climate certified
Organic
Origin certified
Other
Regular
TOTAL
30
5 Origin
Mystery shoppers were asked to check the availability of country of origin information for each product
they assessed, and to record the product’s actual origin (home country, EU, non-EU) where possible.
Please note that base sizes may be low for some sub-groups and are indicated in brackets where
relevant.
31
5.1 Availability of country of origin information
We first address the proportion of products for which country of origin information was available,
before turning to the proportion of home country, other EU country and extra EU products.
Figure 22. Share of products for which country of origin information was available - By country
– Minced beef
87%
88%
87%
100%
99%
99%
99%
99%
99%
98%
97%
95%
94%
93%
92%
91%
91%
88%
85%
84%
83%
82%
81%
80%
80%
79%
71%
68%
67%
42%
13%
12%
13%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
2%
3%
5%
6%
7%
8%
9%
9%
12%
15%
16%
17%
18%
19%
20%
20%
21%
29%
32%
33%
58%
EU27
EU15
EU12
SE
EL
AT
UK
SI
FI
HU
DK
IE
FR
IT
RO
LT
EE
SK
CZ
PL
DE
CY
MT
PT
ES
LV
BG
LU
BE
NL
Yes No
32
Figure 23. Share of products for which country of origin information was available - By country
– Pork sausages
82%
81%
84%
100%
100%
97%
96%
95%
93%
92%
92%
91%
90%
89%
88%
88%
87%
84%
83%
79%
75%
74%
74%
71%
70%
70%
65%
64%
47%
37%
18%
19%
16%
3%
4%
5%
7%
8%
8%
9%
10%
11%
12%
12%
13%
16%
17%
21%
25%
26%
26%
29%
30%
30%
35%
36%
53%
63%
EU27
EU15
EU12
AT
PL
FI
CY
EL
SI
SK
UK
SE
DK
MT
IT
RO
FR
LT
IE
EE
ES
DE
LV
BG
BE
CZ
HU
PT
LU
NL
Yes No
33
Figure 24. Share of products for which country of origin information was available - By country
– Whole chicken
90%
89%
92%
100%
100%
100%
99%
98%
97%
97%
97%
96%
96%
96%
96%
96%
96%
95%
94%
92%
91%
88%
87%
81%
81%
80%
73%
73%
69%
65%
10%
11%
8%
1%
2%
3%
3%
3%
4%
4%
4%
4%
4%
4%
5%
6%
8%
9%
12%
13%
19%
19%
20%
27%
27%
31%
35%
EU27
EU15
EU12
AT
RO
SE
EL
CY
SI
LV
UK
IE
MT
IT
SK
LT
FI
DK
FR
HU
PL
DE
ES
BG
CZ
EE
LU
PT
BE
NL
Yes No
34
Figure 25. Share of products for which country of origin information was available - By country
– Pork cutlets
84%
85%
82%
100%
99%
99%
98%
98%
97%
94%
94%
92%
91%
89%
89%
87%
86%
82%
81%
80%
79%
75%
75%
74%
71%
71%
70%
68%
55%
49%
16%
15%
18%
1%
1%
2%
2%
3%
6%
6%
8%
9%
11%
11%
13%
14%
18%
19%
20%
21%
25%
25%
26%
29%
29%
30%
32%
45%
51%
EU27
EU15
EU12
AT
FI
EL
UK
SE
SI
LT
IE
FR
DK
MT
IT
EE
CY
ES
RO
LV
SK
BG
PT
PL
CZ
HU
DE
BE
LU
NL
Yes No
35
Across the single meat market, whole chicken products had the highest proportion of country of origin
information of the four product types (90%). This information was available for 87% of minced beef,
84% of pork cutlets and 82% of pork sausages.
Within the minced beef category, country of origin information was available for 88% of EU15
products and 87% of EU12. Eight countries had country of origin information available for more than
95% of products assessed: Sweden (100%), Greece, Austria, the United Kingdom, Slovenia and
Finland (99%), Hungary (98%) and Denmark (97%). The Netherlands had the lowest incidence of
country of origin information – 42%.
Within the EU15, country of origin information was seen on 81% of pork sausage products and within
the EU12 on 84% of products. Austria and Poland had country of origin information available for all
assessed products. Two countries had country of origin information available for less than half of
products - the Netherlands (37% of pork sausages) and Lithuania (47%).
Overall, 90% of whole chicken products had country of origin information – the highest of all four
categories assessed. This was the case for 89% of products within the EU15 and 92% in the EU12.
Three countries had country of origin information available for all assessed products: Austria, Romania
and Sweden. Again, the Netherlands had the lowest proportion of whole chickens with this
information: 65%.
Within the pork cutlet category, 84% of products had country of origin information available, with 85%
in the EU15 and 82% in the EU12. It was shown on 100% of products in Austria and on 99% of
products in Finland and Greece. The Netherlands had the lowest proportion of country of origin
information with 49%.
36
The figures below present the share of products assessed for which country of origin information was
available, by meat type and category. Please note base sizes may be low for some sub-groups and
are indicated in brackets where relevant.
Figure 26. Share of products for which country of origin information was available - By meat
type – Minced beef
37
Figure 27. Share of products for which country of origin information was available - By meat
type – Pork sausages
38
Figure 28. Share of products for which country of origin information was available - By meat
type – Whole chicken
39
Figure 29. Share of products for which country of origin information was available - By meat
type – Pork cutlets
40
Within the minced beef category, country of origin information was available for 98% of origin certified
products and 95% of environment/climate certified products. These are the two categories with the
highest proportions of country of origin information. Regular products had the lowest proportion of
country of origin information, with 82%.
Environment/climate certified pork sausage products had country of origin information for all products
assessed. Regular pork sausages had the lowest proportion of country of origin information – 74%.
Origin certified whole chickens had country of origin information available for 97% of products
assessed, while this was only the case for 84% of regular products.
100% of environment/climate certified pork cutlets had country of origin information available,
compared with 79% for regular products.
41
The figures below present the proportion of products for which country of origin information was
available by retailer channel and meat category. Please note base sizes may be low for some sub-
groups and are indicated in brackets where relevant.
Figure 30. Share of products for which country of origin information was available - By retailer
channel – Minced beef
42
Figure 31. Share of products for which country of origin information was available - By retailer
channel – Pork sausages
43
Figure 32. Share of products for which country of origin information was available - By retailer
channel – Whole chicken
44
Figure 33. Share of products for which country of origin information was available - By retailer
channel – Pork cutlets
45
Within the minced beef category, the country of origin was available for more products assessed at
hypermarkets (90%) than in other channels. It was least available at butcher’s shops, with 69% of
products.
Country of origin information was available for 93% of pork sausage products assessed within
discount stores – the highest percentage for this category. Butcher’s shops had the lowest percentage
with 69%.
Country of origin information was available on 92% of whole chicken products assessed in
hypermarkets and on 90% of products assessed in supermarkets. Convenience stores had the lowest
proportion of available information – 82%.
92% of pork cutlet products assessed in discount stores had country of origin information available –
the highest level for this category. Butchers had this information item available for the smallest
proportion of products – 70%.
46
5.2 Country of origin of products
The figures below present the share of products by origin (home country, other EU country or extra EU
country) and by meat category.
Figure 34. Share of products from different origins - By country – Minced beef 2
81%
85%
71%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
99%
99%
97%
96%
95%
87%
86%
85%
85%
81%
80%
79%
73%
64%
56%
50%
46%
44%
36%
26%
26%
18%
15%
28%
1%
1%
4%
5%
13%
14%
14%
15%
18%
17%
21%
27%
36%
44%
50%
54%
54%
64%
70%
71%
0%
0%
1%
3%
1%
1%
3%
2%
4%
3%
EU27
EU15
EU12
LT
BG
AT
FR
PL
BE
IE
FI
ES
DE
RO
UK
SI
SE
DK
PT
NL
EE
CZ
CY
IT
HU
LU
MT
EL
LV
SK
Home country Other EU Country Outside of the EU
2 Note that 0% is recorded on the graph due to rounding of the data. 0% represents figures which are less than 0.5% and have been rounded down.
47
Figure 35. Share of products from different origins - By country – Pork sausages3
92%
94%
87%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
98%
97%
97%
97%
96%
96%
96%
95%
95%
95%
94%
94%
94%
93%
89%
88%
79%
74%
64%
50%
45%
8%
5%
13%
2%
3%
3%
3%
4%
4%
4%
5%
5%
5%
6%
6%
6%
5%
11%
13%
12%
26%
33%
50%
55%
0%
0%
0%
2%
10%
3%
EU27
EU15
EU12
BG
AT
FR
BE
ES
CY
LT
RO
IE
DE
FI
IT
PL
EE
SI
SE
DK
UK
HU
PT
EL
CZ
NL
SK
LV
LU
MT
Home country Other EU Country Outside of the EU
3 Note that 0% is recorded on the graph due to rounding of the data. 0% represents figures which are less than 0.5% and have been rounded down.
48
Figure 36. Share of products from different origins - By country – Whole chicken
90%
92%
89%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
99%
98%
98%
98%
97%
97%
97%
96%
96%
96%
94%
94%
93%
89%
86%
84%
79%
73%
71%
66%
48%
40%
9%
8%
11%
1%
2%
2%
1%
3%
3%
2%
4%
4%
4%
6%
6%
7%
11%
14%
16%
19%
27%
29%
34%
51%
60%
0%
0%
0%
1%
1%
2%
1%
EU27
EU15
EU12
BG
AT
RO
PL
CY
ES
UK
IT
PT
SE
CZ
DK
FR
LT
SI
HU
EL
IE
FI
DE
EE
LV
BE
SK
NL
MT
LU
Home country Other EU Country Outside of the EU
4
4 Note that 0% is recorded on the graph due to rounding of the data. 0% represents figures which are less than 0.5% and have been rounded down.
49
Figure 37. Share of products from different origins - By country – Pork cutlets
87%
90%
82%
100%
100%
100%
100%
99%
99%
99%
99%
98%
98%
98%
98%
97%
96%
95%
91%
90%
87%
84%
82%
78%
71%
68%
68%
47%
41%
35%
12%
10%
18%
1%
1%
1%
2%
2%
2%
2%
3%
4%
4%
9%
9%
13%
16%
17%
22%
21%
32%
32%
53%
59%
62%
0%
1%
0%
1%
1%
1%
1%
7%
3%
EU27
EU15
EU12
AT
RO
PL
CY
FR
IE
ES
PT
HU
LT
BG
FI
IT
DE
BE
SE
DK
SI
EE
UK
CZ
NL
MT
LU
EL
SK
LV
Home country Other EU Country Outside of the EU
5
5 Note that 0% is recorded on the graph due to rounding of the data. 0% represents figures which are less than 0.5% and have been rounded down.
50
Within the EU27 (92%) and the EU15 (94%), pork sausages had the highest proportion of products
originating from the home country. Within the EU12, whole chickens had the highest proportion of
home country products (89%).
All minced beef products with country of origin information in Lithuania, Bulgaria, Austria, France,
Poland and Belgium came from the home country. Extra-EU products were assessed in seven
countries: Latvia (4% of minced beef products assessed in the country), Spain (3%), the Netherlands
(3%), Slovakia (3%), Malta (2%), Sweden (1%) and Portugal (1%).
Pork sausages were from the home country for all assessments in Bulgaria, Austria, France,
Belgium, Spain and Cyprus. The Netherlands (10%), Latvia (3%) and Portugal (2%) were the only
countries to display products from outside the EU.
Whole chickens came from the home country for all products assessed in Bulgaria, Austria,
Romania, Poland and Cyprus. Non-EU chickens were available in Latvia (2%), Portugal (1%),
Denmark (1%), and Malta (1%).
Pork Cutlets all came from the home country in Austria, Romania, Poland and Cyprus. The
Netherlands (7%), Latvia (3%), Spain (1%), Belgium (1%), the UK (1%) and Denmark (1%) had cutlets
from outside the EU available.
51
The figures below present the share of products by origin (home country, other EU country or extra EU
country) and by meat type. Please note base sizes may be low for some sub-groups and are indicated
in brackets where relevant.
Figure 38. Share of products from different origins - By meat type – Minced beef
Figure 39. Share of products from different origins - By meat type – Pork sausages
52
Figure 40. Share of products from different origins - By meat type – Whole chicken
Figure 41. Share of products from different origins - By meat type – Pork cutlets
53
The only minced beef products coming from outside the EU were animal welfare certified products. In
comparison with other minced beef products, regular minced beef was most likely to come from
another EU country with 23% of assessed products in this case.
The only pork sausages coming from outside the EU were animal welfare certified products (2% of
animal welfare certified pork sausages) or ‘Other’ products (2% of ‘other’ pork sausage products). All
environment/climate certified pork sausages assessed were from the home country.
3% of the religious slaughter chickens were from outside the EU. Across all other meat types, over
90% of whole chickens were from the home country.
Non-EU products were assessed for only three types of pork cutlets: organic (1% of organic pork
cutlet products), regular (1%) and animal welfare certified (2%). In comparison with other meat types,
animal certified products had the highest proportion of products coming from another EU country (16%
of animal welfare certified pork sausages).
54
The figures below present the proportion of products by origin and by retailer channel within each
meat category. Please note base sizes may be low for some sub-groups and are indicated in brackets
where relevant.
Figure 42. Share of products from different origins - By retailer channel – Minced beef
55
Figure 43. Share of products from different origins - By retailer channel – Pork sausages
56
Figure 44. Share of products from different origins - By retailer channel – Whole chicken
57
Figure 45. Share of products from different origins - By retailer channel – Pork cutlets
All the minced beef and pork sausages assessed in markets and farms came from the home country.
Discount stores had the highest proportion of meat from another EU country across all categories:
29% for minced beef, 19% for pork sausages, 11% for whole chickens and 27% for pork cutlets.
Small proportions of products came from outside the EU, but no trend is visible in terms of retailer
channels, with non-EU products assessed in all channels.
58
6 Quality
This section presents the results of the mystery shopping exercise linked to quality certifications, such
as organic, origin and animal welfare certifications. Please note that base sizes may be low for some
sub-groups and are indicated in brackets where relevant.
59
6.1 Organic
The figures below present the share of products for which organic certification information was
available.
Figure 46. Share of products for which organic certification information was available - By
country – Minced beef
19%
26%
3%
42%
41%
39%
38%
29%
28%
28%
27%
23%
19%
14%
14%
12%
11%
8%
6%
5%
5%
5%
4%
1%
81%
74%
97%
58%
59%
61%
62%
71%
72%
72%
73%
77%
81%
86%
86%
88%
89%
92%
94%
95%
95%
95%
96%
99%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
EU27
EU15
EU12
IT
NL
SE
DK
UK
AT
FI
IE
LU
DE
CZ
BE
FR
PT
RO
SI
HU
PL
EL
ES
LV
LT
BG
EE
MT
SK
CY
Yes No
60
Figure 47. Share of products for which organic certification information was available - By
country – Pork sausages
12%
16%
3%
39%
35%
35%
22%
18%
16%
16%
15%
14%
12%
11%
10%
9%
6%
4%
4%
1%
1%
1%
88%
84%
97%
61%
65%
65%
78%
82%
84%
84%
85%
86%
88%
89%
90%
91%
94%
96%
96%
99%
99%
99%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
EU27
EU15
EU12
IT
NL
SE
LU
RO
UK
FI
DE
DK
AT
BE
FR
PL
EL
IE
HU
MT
PT
SK
LV
LT
BG
SI
EE
CZ
ES
CY
Yes No
61
Figure 48. Share of products for which organic certification information was available - By
country – Whole chicken
16%
20%
7%
46%
34%
33%
28%
24%
21%
20%
19%
19%
18%
18%
18%
17%
15%
11%
11%
7%
5%
5%
3%
3%
3%
2%
2%
2%
84%
80%
93%
54%
66%
67%
72%
76%
79%
80%
81%
81%
82%
82%
83%
83%
85%
89%
89%
93%
95%
95%
97%
97%
97%
98%
98%
98%
100%
100%
EU27
EU15
EU12
IT
SE
NL
PT
UK
AT
LU
CZ
RO
DK
IE
BE
EL
FR
FI
HU
SI
PL
MT
DE
SK
LT
BG
ES
LV
EE
CY
Yes No
62
Figure 49. Share of products for which organic certification information was available - By
country – Pork cutlets
12%
18%
2%
41%
39%
30%
21%
20%
19%
16%
15%
15%
14%
9%
8%
8%
6%
6%
4%
2%
2%
1%
1%
88%
82%
98%
59%
61%
70%
79%
80%
81%
84%
85%
85%
86%
91%
92%
92%
94%
94%
96%
98%
98%
99%
99%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
EU27
EU15
EU12
IT
NL
SE
AT
UK
DK
LU
DE
BE
FI
PT
FR
RO
SI
EL
ES
MT
PL
SK
IE
LV
LT
BG
EE
HU
CZ
CY
Yes No
63
The availability of organic information is much lower in EU12 than in the EU15 in all categories,
although this could be linked to the lower availability of organic products in general in these Member
States.
The proportion of assessed products for which organic information was available was the highest in
Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden across all meat categories.
Overall, organic information was available on 19% of the assessed minced beef products – this figure
is higher in the EU15 with 26% and lower in the EU12 with 3%.
The average for pork sausages was 12% across the EU27, 16% for the EU15 and 3% for the EU12.
Italy had the highest proportion of organic information available for sausages with 39%.
The average proportion of whole chickens with organic information available was 16% across the
EU27 and 20% for the EU15. 7% of whole chickens in the EU12 had organic information available, the
highest proportion across all four categories. 46% of whole chickens assessed in Italy had organic
information available.
Overall, organic information was available for 12% of pork cutlets. This was the case for 18% of
EU15 products and 2% of EU12 products. The highest proportion was also recorded in Italy with 41%.
64
The figures below present the share of products for which organic certification information was
available by meat type and meat category. For instance, some products may display an organic and
an animal welfare certification at the same time.
Figure 50. Share of products for which organic certification information was available - By meat
type – Minced beef
65
Figure 51. Share of products for which organic certification information was available - By meat
type – Pork sausages
66
Figure 52. Share of products for which organic certification information was available - By meat
type – Whole chicken
67
Figure 53. Share of products for which organic certification information was available - By meat
type – Pork cutlets
68
Some products display more than one type of certification. Products which were categorised as
environment/climate certified were most likely to also have organic information available across all
meat categories.
64% of minced beef products with an environment/climate certification were also certified organic.
This was the case for 24% of animal welfare certified products. None of the religious slaughter or other
products were also organic.
58% of pork sausages with an environment/climate certification were also certified organic, while this
was the case for 22% of animal welfare certified products. 4% of origin specified products were also
organic.
55% of whole chickens with an environment/climate certification were also organic. This proportion
was 12% for animal welfare certified chickens and 4% for origin certified products.
65% of environment/climate certified and 23% of animal welfare certified pork cutlets were also
organic.
69
The figures below present the share of products for which organic certification information was
available by retailer channel and meat category. Please note base sizes may be low for some sub-
groups and are indicated in brackets where relevant.
Figure 54. Share of products for which organic certification information was available - By
retailer channel – Minced beef
70
Figure 55. Share of products for which organic certification information was available - By
retailer channel – Pork sausages
71
Figure 56. Share of products for which organic certification information was available - By
retailer channel – Whole chicken
72
Figure 57. Share of products for which organic certification information was available - By
retailer channel – Pork cutlets
73
Across all meat categories, mystery shoppers could find organic information more often for products
assessed in supermarkets and hypermarkets than in any other retail channel. Markets/farms had the
lowest proportion of products with organic information available.
Organic information was recorded for 22% of minced beef products assessed in supermarkets and
19% of products assessed in hypermarkets. This was the case for 4% of products in markets/farms.
Organic information was available for 13% of pork sausage products assessed in supermarkets and
12% in hypermarkets. None of the pork sausages assessed in markets/farms were certified organic.
18% of whole chickens assessed in hypermarkets had organic information available, followed by
15% in supermarkets. This was the case for 12% of products assessed in butcher’s shops and 4% in
markets/farms.
Pork cutlets were certified organic in 14% of cases in supermarkets and 11% in hypermarkets. None
of the pork cutlets assessed in markets/farms had organic information available.
74
6.2 Quality/origin certifications
The figures below present the share of products for which origin certification information was available
by country and meat category.
Figure 58. Share of products for which origin certification information was available - By
country – Minced beef
41%
50%
16%
82%
73%
67%
59%
57%
55%
53%
50%
41%
39%
39%
37%
35%
32%
30%
30%
30%
18%
18%
11%
10%
7%
3%
3%
3%
59%
50%
84%
18%
27%
33%
41%
43%
45%
47%
50%
59%
61%
61%
63%
65%
68%
70%
70%
70%
82%
82%
89%
90%
93%
97%
97%
97%
100%
100%
EU27
EU15
EU12
IE
UK
DE
EL
FI
EE
IT
SE
BE
PT
DK
FR
SK
LU
NL
AT
HU
CZ
RO
PL
ES
MT
BG
LV
SI
LT
CY
Yes No
75
Figure 59. Share of products for which origin certification information was available - By
country – Pork sausages
40%
46%
26%
66%
66%
63%
60%
55%
51%
50%
44%
44%
41%
41%
37%
35%
31%
30%
27%
24%
24%
23%
20%
20%
10%
9%
8%
7%
60%
54%
74%
34%
34%
38%
40%
45%
49%
50%
56%
56%
59%
59%
63%
65%
69%
70%
73%
76%
76%
77%
80%
80%
90%
91%
92%
93%
100%
100%
EU27
EU15
EU12
DE
UK
EL
IE
EE
IT
SE
FI
FR
SI
BE
SK
HU
LU
DK
MT
RO
NL
AT
BG
PT
ES
PL
LV
CZ
LT
CY
Yes No
76
Figure 60. Share of products for which origin certification information was available - By
country – Whole chicken
46%
53%
33%
80%
76%
68%
61%
60%
60%
60%
57%
51%
51%
51%
49%
47%
44%
44%
40%
37%
34%
28%
27%
24%
23%
11%
7%
6%
54%
47%
67%
20%
24%
32%
39%
40%
40%
40%
43%
49%
49%
49%
51%
53%
56%
56%
60%
63%
66%
72%
73%
76%
77%
89%
93%
94%
100%
100%
EU27
EU15
EU12
IE
DE
UK
EE
SE
FR
EL
HU
SK
IT
BE
DK
LU
RO
BG
NL
FI
AT
SI
PT
CZ
MT
PL
ES
LV
LT
CY
Yes No
77
Figure 61. Share of products for which origin certification information was available - By
country – Pork cutlets
33%
42%
16%
73%
62%
62%
53%
50%
48%
45%
45%
42%
39%
32%
31%
31%
30%
30%
27%
26%
16%
11%
10%
7%
7%
5%
4%
1%
67%
58%
84%
27%
38%
38%
47%
50%
52%
55%
55%
58%
61%
68%
69%
69%
70%
70%
73%
74%
84%
89%
90%
93%
93%
95%
96%
99%
100%
100%
EU27
EU15
EU12
IE
DE
UK
EE
SE
FI
IT
BE
EL
MT
NL
SK
AT
LU
FR
DK
HU
PT
ES
RO
CZ
LV
PL
SI
BG
LT
CY
Yes No
78
None of the products from Lithuania or Cyprus, across all meat categories, were origin certified.
Products assessed in Ireland, Denmark and the United Kingdom had higher proportions of origin
certifications than the average. Whole chickens had the highest proportion of origin certification of any
of the meat products. Products assessed in the EU12 were less likely to have this information
available than EU15 products.
41% of minced beef products were origin certified. This was the case for 50% of minced beef
products assessed in the EU15 and 16% of the EU12 minced beef. 82% of products assessed in
Ireland were origin certified, while Slovenia, Latvia and Bulgaria had the lowest proportion of this type
of information available (3% in each case).
40% of the assessed pork sausages products were origin certified. This proportion was 46% in the
EU15 and 26% in the EU12. 66% of pork sausage products assessed in Denmark and the United
Kingdom were origin certified. In contrast, the Czech Republic had the lowest proportion of this type of
information available, 7% of the pork sausage products assessed in the country.
Within the EU27, 46% of whole chicken products had an origin certification. This information item
was available on 53% of products assessed in the EU15 and 33% in the EU12. 80% of whole
chickens assessed in Ireland were origin certified, followed by Denmark (76%) and the United
Kingdom (68%). Latvia had the lowest proportion of origin certified products – 6%.
33% of pork cutlet products assessed in the survey were origin certified. This was the case for 42%
of products in the EU15 and 16% in the EU12. Bulgaria had the lowest proportion of origin
certifications – 1%. Ireland (73%), Germany and the United Kingdom (both 62%) had the highest
proportion of origin certified products.
79
The figures below present the share of products for which origin certification information was available
by meat type and meat category. Please note base sizes may be low for some sub-groups and are
indicated in brackets where relevant.
Figure 62. Share of products for which origin certification information was available - By meat
type – Minced beef
80
Figure 63. Share of products for which origin certification information was available - By meat
type – Pork sausages
81
Figure 64. Share of products for which origin certification information was available - By meat
type – Whole Chicken
82
Figure 65. Share of products for which origin certification information was available - By meat
type – Pork cutlets
83
Several types of certifications were available for some products. Aside from origin certified products,
environment/climate certified products and organic products were most likely to also be origin certified,
across all meat categories.
Overall, environment/climate certified minced beef products were the most likely to also be origin
certified with 86%. 76% of animal welfare certified products were also origin certified.
Out of the environment/climate certified pork sausages assessed, 75% were also origin certified. This
information was available for 70% of animal welfare certified products and 61% of organic products.
75% of environment/climate certified whole chickens assessed were also origin certified. This was
the case of 71% of the organic products assessed.
Environment/climate certified pork cutlets were origin certified in 76% of cases. This proportion was
68% for animal welfare certified products and 60% for organic pork cutlets.
84
The figures below present the share of products for which origin certification information was available
by retailer channel and meat category. Please note base sizes may be low for some sub-groups and
are indicated in brackets where relevant.
Figure 66. Share of products for which origin certification information was available - By
retailer channel – Minced beef
85
Figure 67. Share of products for which origin certification information was available - By
retailer channel – Pork sausages
86
Figure 68. Share of products for which origin certification information was available - By
retailer channel – Whole chicken
87
Figure 69. Share of products for which origin certification information was available - By
retailer channel – Pork cutlets
88
Across all meat categories, supermarkets, hypermarkets and discount stores had higher proportions of
products with origin certified information.
Origin certified information was available for 43% of minced beef products assessed in hypermarkets,
42% of products in discount stores and 41% of products in supermarkets. Origin certified information
was less likely to be available for the products assessed in butchers (26%) and markets/farms (20%).
43% of pork sausages products assessed in hypermarkets were origin certified, followed by 40% in
discount stores and 39% in supermarkets. This was the case for 17% of pork sausages assessed in
markets/farms.
Origin certifications were available for 50% of whole chickens assessed in hypermarkets. In contrast,
only 8% of whole chickens assessed in markets or farms had this type of information available.
38% of pork cutlet products assessed in discount stores were origin certified, while this was the case
for 22% of products assessed in convenience stores.
89
6.3 Animal welfare/rearing standards
The figures below present the share of products for which rearing standards/animal welfare
certification information was available by country and meat category. Please note base sizes may be
low for some sub-groups and are indicated in brackets where relevant.
Figure 70. Share of products for which rearing standards information was available - By
country – Minced beef
17%
22%
3%
49%
40%
37%
34%
29%
18%
16%
15%
15%
14%
12%
11%
11%
9%
5%
5%
5%
5%
4%
3%
3%
1%
83%
78%
97%
51%
60%
63%
66%
71%
82%
84%
85%
85%
86%
88%
89%
89%
91%
95%
95%
95%
95%
96%
97%
97%
99%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
EU27
EU15
EU12
IT
SE
NL
UK
DE
AT
DK
IE
FI
CZ
EL
PT
LU
BE
FR
HU
PL
SK
EE
RO
LV
ES
LT
BG
SI
MT
CY
Yes No
90
Figure 71. Share of products for which rearing standards information was available - By
country – Pork sausages
14%
19%
3%
45%
42%
38%
37%
13%
13%
11%
11%
10%
10%
10%
9%
8%
8%
6%
6%
4%
3%
3%
2%
86%
81%
97%
55%
58%
62%
63%
87%
87%
89%
89%
90%
90%
90%
91%
92%
92%
94%
94%
96%
97%
97%
98%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
EU27
EU15
EU12
IT
SE
NL
UK
DE
EL
IE
BE
PT
RO
DK
LU
HU
AT
FI
EE
PL
SK
FR
ES
LV
LT
BG
SI
MT
CZ
CY
Yes No
91
Figure 72. Share of products for which rearing standards certification information was
available - By country – Whole chicken
31%
42%
12%
62%
54%
50%
49%
47%
46%
43%
42%
40%
39%
35%
34%
31%
29%
27%
24%
22%
16%
6%
4%
4%
3%
3%
2%
1%
69%
58%
88%
38%
46%
50%
51%
53%
54%
57%
58%
60%
61%
65%
66%
69%
71%
73%
76%
78%
84%
94%
96%
96%
97%
97%
98%
99%
100%
100%
EU27
EU15
EU12
SE
IT
FR
EL
UK
NL
LU
BE
IE
ES
RO
DK
DE
PT
HU
AT
CZ
SK
MT
EE
PL
SI
BG
FI
LT
LV
CY
Yes No
92
Figure 73. Share of products for which rearing standards certification information was
available - By country – Pork cutlets
15%
21%
2%
44%
40%
35%
35%
28%
21%
20%
16%
16%
12%
10%
10%
9%
7%
6%
4%
3%
3%
3%
2%
1%
1%
85%
79%
98%
56%
60%
65%
65%
72%
79%
80%
84%
84%
88%
90%
90%
91%
93%
94%
96%
97%
97%
97%
98%
99%
99%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
EU27
EU15
EU12
IT
NL
UK
SE
FI
DK
AT
EL
DE
IE
FR
PT
BE
ES
HU
LU
EE
PL
RO
MT
LV
SK
LT
BG
SI
CZ
CY
Yes No
93
The proportion of rearing standards information available was higher for the whole chicken products
assessed than for other product categories overall. Products assessed in Italy had one of the highest
proportions of rearing standards information, while none of the products assessed in Cyprus were
rearing standards certified.
Within the EU27, 17% of the minced beef products assessed were rearing standards certified. This
proportion was 22% for products assessed in EU15 countries and 3% for EU12 countries. 49% of
minced beef products assessed in Italy had rearing standards information available, while this
information was not available for any of the products assessed in Lithuania, Bulgaria Slovenia, Malta
and Cyprus.
Within the pork sausages category, 14% of all assessed products had rearing standards information
available. This was the case for 19% of products in the EU15 and 3% of assessments the EU12. The
highest proportion of rearing standards information available, in Italy, was 45%, followed by Sweden
with 42% of assessed products. This information item was not available for any of the products
assessed in Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Malta, Czech Republic and Cyprus.
31% of the whole chicken products assessed had rearing standards information available, with 42%
in the EU15 and 12% of EU12 countries. Sweden had this information available for 62% of products
assessed, followed by Italy with 54%. In contrast, this information item was not available for any of the
whole chickens assessed in Latvia and Cyprus.
Across the EU27, 15% of the pork cutlet products assessed had rearing standards information
available – this proportion was 21% in the EU15 and 2% in the EU12. Italy had this information
available for 44% of the pork cutlet products assessed. At the other end of the ranking, none of the
pork cutlets assessed in Lithuania, Bulgaria Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Cyprus were rearing
standards certified.
94
The figures below present the share of products for which rearing standards/animal welfare
certification information was available by meat type and meat category. Please note base sizes may
be low for some sub-groups and are indicated in brackets where relevant.
Figure 74. Share of products for which rearing standards certification information was
available - By meat type – Minced beef
95
Figure 75. Share of products for which rearing standards certification information was
available - By meat type – Pork sausages
96
Figure 76. Share of products for which rearing standards certification information was
available - By meat type – Whole chicken
97
Figure 77. Share of products for which rearing standards certification information was
available - By meat type – Pork cutlets
98
Overall, animal welfare certified and environment/climate certified products had higher proportions of
rearing standards information than other product categories.
77% of environment/climate certified minced beef products were also rearing standards certified. This
figure is 72% for animal welfare certified products.
84% of animal welfare certified pork sausages were also rearing standards certified, while this was
the case for 83% of environment/climate certified products.
Animal welfare certified whole chickens were also rearing standards certified in 94% of cases.
Environment/climate certified products are next with 73% of rearing standards certified products.
92% of animal welfare certified pork cutlets included a rearing standards certification, while this was
the case for 88% of environment/climate certified products.
99
The figures below present the share of products for which rearing standards/animal welfare
certification information was available by retailer channel and meat category. Please note base sizes
may be low for some sub-groups and are indicated in brackets where relevant.
Figure 78. Share of products for which rearing standards certification information was
available - By retailer channel – Minced beef
100
Figure 79. Share of products for which rearing standards certification information was
available - By retailer channel – Pork sausages
101
Figure 80. Share of products for which rearing standards certification information was
available - By retailer channel – Whole chicken
102
Figure 81. Share of products for which rearing standards certification information was
available - By retailer channel – Pork cutlets
103
Rearing standards information was available for 19% of minced beef products assessed in
supermarkets, while this proportion was 11% for convenience stores and 8% for markets/farms.
Pork sausage products assessed in supermarkets had the highest proportion of rearing standards
information available (17%), while butchers had the lowest, 6%.
Rearing standards certifications were available for 35% of whole chicken products assessed in
hypermarkets and 32% in supermarkets. At the other end of the ranking, 4% of whole chickens
assessed in markets/farms were rearing standards certified.
Rearing standards information was available on 17% of pork cutlet products assessed in
supermarkets. In contrast, 9% of pork cutlets in butchers and 3% in markets/farms had such
information available.
104
7 Health
This section presents the results of the mystery shopping audit related to health: availability of ‘use by’
date information, nutritional values and nutritional or health claims.
Nutritional values present the content of food in terms of nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fat or salt.
Nutritional or health claims are claims on the food’s better nutritional values, for instance ‘low fat’ or
‘Omega 3.’
105
7.1 Use by date
Figure 82. Share of products for which ‘use by date’ information was available - By country –
Minced beef
87%
89%
83%
100%
100%
99%
99%
98%
97%
96%
96%
95%
95%
92%
92%
92%
91%
89%
88%
88%
82%
80%
80%
80%
79%
75%
67%
64%
45%
25%
13%
11%
17%
1%
1%
2%
3%
4%
4%
5%
5%
8%
8%
8%
9%
11%
12%
12%
18%
20%
20%
20%
21%
25%
33%
36%
55%
75%
EU27
EU15
EU12
FI
SE
NL
LV
EE
FR
UK
LT
SK
IE
CZ
ES
DK
HU
DE
RO
PL
AT
BE
IT
PT
LU
SI
BG
MT
EL
CY
Yes No
106
Figure 83. Share of products for which ‘use by date’ information was available - By country –
Pork sausages
90%
91%
89%
100%
100%
100%
98%
98%
97%
96%
96%
96%
95%
94%
93%
93%
92%
92%
90%
87%
87%
86%
85%
84%
84%
82%
77%
77%
69%
65%
10%
9%
11%
2%
2%
3%
4%
4%
4%
5%
6%
7%
7%
8%
8%
10%
13%
13%
14%
15%
16%
16%
18%
23%
23%
31%
35%
EU27
EU15
EU12
FI
PL
SE
NL
LV
SK
IE
UK
CZ
EE
FR
LT
DK
AT
SI
ES
DE
RO
CY
BE
EL
IT
PT
MT
BG
HU
LU
Yes No
107
Figure 84. Share of products for which ‘use by date’ information was available - By country –
Whole chicken
94%
94%
95%
100%
100%
99%
98%
98%
98%
98%
97%
97%
97%
97%
97%
96%
96%
95%
93%
92%
92%
91%
91%
91%
90%
88%
88%
87%
86%
84%
6%
6%
5%
1%
2%
2%
2%
2%
3%
3%
3%
3%
3%
4%
4%
5%
7%
8%
8%
9%
9%
9%
10%
12%
12%
13%
14%
16%
EU27
EU15
EU12
FI
NL
IE
SI
RO
FR
UK
BG
LT
SK
LV
AT
SE
EE
ES
PL
DK
DE
CZ
BE
IT
EL
HU
CY
MT
LU
PT
Yes No
108
Figure 85. Share of products for which ‘use by date’ information was available - By country –
Pork cutlets
85%
88%
79%
100%
99%
97%
97%
97%
95%
95%
95%
94%
93%
92%
91%
89%
87%
86%
85%
85%
77%
76%
76%
76%
73%
73%
57%
54%
53%
38%
15%
12%
21%
1%
3%
3%
3%
5%
5%
5%
6%
7%
8%
9%
11%
13%
14%
15%
15%
23%
24%
24%
24%
27%
27%
43%
46%
47%
62%
EU27
EU15
EU12
FI
NL
FR
EE
SE
UK
LT
IE
SK
LV
DK
CZ
ES
DE
PL
IT
BE
PT
AT
SI
RO
LU
HU
EL
MT
BG
CY
Yes No
109
The ‘Use by date’ information availability varies by country and meat category. Assessments
conducted in Finland showed greater consistency with this information item being available for all
products assessed across all categories. ‘Use by date’ information was more likely to be available in
Sweden and the Netherlands across all categories.
A use by date was available for 87% of all minced beef products. All minced beef products assessed
in Finland and Sweden had this item available, while this was the case for only 25% of minced beef in
Cyprus.
‘Use by’ dates were available for 90% of pork sausage products assessed across the EU27. Finland,
Poland and Sweden had ‘use by’ date information available for all of products assessed. Lithuania had
the lowest proportion of pork sausages with ‘use by’ dates – 65%.
Whole chickens had the highest levels of use by date information available across all meat
categories, with 94%. Finland and the Netherlands had a use by date available for all chickens
assessed, while Portugal had the lowest proportion – 84%.
85% of pork cutlets had ‘use by’ date information available. This was the case for all pork cutlets
assessed in Finland and 99% in the Netherlands. Cyprus had the lowest proportion of products with a
use by date – 38%.
110
The figures below present the share of products for which ‘use by’ date information was available by
meat type and meat category. Please note base sizes may be low for some sub-groups and are
indicated in brackets where relevant.
Figure 86. Share of products for which ‘use by date’ information was available - By meat type –
Minced beef
111
Figure 87. Share of products for which ‘use by date’ information was available - By meat type –
Pork sausages
112
Figure 88. Share of products for which ‘use by date’ information was available - By meat type –
Whole chicken
113
Figure 89. Share of products for which ‘use by date’ information was available - By meat type –
Pork cutlets
114
Regular products were least likely to have use by date information available across all four categories:
This information was not available for 18% of regular minced beef, as well as 12% of pork sausages,
9% of whole chickens and 19% of pork cutlets.
All environment/climate certified minced beef products and 98% of environment/climate certified whole
chickens had this information item available, while this was the case for 98% of animal welfare
certified pork cutlets.
115
The figures below present the share of products for which ‘use by’ date information was available by
retailer channel and meat category. Please note base sizes may be low for some sub-groups and are
indicated in brackets where relevant.
Figure 90. Share of products for which ‘use by date’ information was available - By retailer
channel – Minced beef
116
Figure 91. Share of products for which ‘use by date’ information was available - By retailer
channel – Pork sausages
117
Figure 92. Share of products for which ‘use by date’ information was available - By retailer
channel – Whole chicken
Figure 93. Share of products for which ‘use by date’ information was available - By retailer
channel – Pork cutlets
118
Across all meat categories, butchers and markets/farms were the least likely to have ‘use by’ date
information available, while discount stores were the most likely to do so.
88% of minced beef products assessed in supermarkets had ‘use by’ date information available. This
proportion was 94% in hypermarkets. The highest proportion of ‘use by’ dates within the minced beef
category was found in discount stores (96%).
The highest proportion of ‘use by’ dates in the pork sausage category was available at discount
retailers, with 98%. At the other end of the spectrum, the lowest proportions were found at butchers
(41%) and in markets/farms (39%).
Whole chicken products had the highest proportion of ‘use by’ date information available across meat
categories. ‘Use by’ date information was available for almost all (99%) whole chickens assessed in
discount stores, followed by hypermarkets with 98%. This type of information was available for 56% of
products assessed in butchers.
‘Use by’ dates were available for 96% of the pork cutlet products assessed at discount stores. This
was the case for 91% of products in hypermarkets and 31% of products in butcher’s shops.
119
7.2 Nutritional value
The figures below present the share of products for which nutritional value information was available
by country and meat category. Please note base sizes may be low for some sub-groups and are
indicated in brackets where relevant.
Figure 94. Share of products for which nutritional value information was available - By country
– Minced beef
47%
53%
33%
86%
82%
79%
75%
68%
67%
65%
63%
59%
53%
52%
45%
42%
38%
34%
34%
20%
19%
19%
17%
15%
15%
11%
10%
9%
4%
53%
47%
67%
14%
18%
21%
25%
32%
33%
35%
38%
41%
47%
48%
55%
58%
62%
66%
66%
80%
81%
81%
83%
85%
85%
89%
90%
91%
96%
100%
EU27
EU15
EU12
FI
UK
IE
FR
CZ
NL
EE
HU
DK
DE
SK
ES
MT
SE
BE
LV
EL
LU
IT
PL
PT
RO
LT
BG
AT
SI
CY
Yes No
120
Figure 95. Share of products for which nutritional value information was available - By country
– Pork sausages
54%
64%
31%
95%
91%
88%
84%
84%
77%
69%
68%
67%
63%
61%
60%
60%
52%
41%
31%
29%
26%
22%
20%
18%
16%
14%
13%
10%
7%
5%
46%
36%
69%
5%
9%
12%
16%
16%
23%
31%
32%
33%
37%
39%
40%
40%
48%
59%
69%
71%
74%
78%
80%
82%
84%
86%
87%
90%
93%
95%
EU27
EU15
EU12
FI
UK
FR
IE
DK
AT
SE
EE
MT
CZ
ES
NL
DE
EL
SK
LV
BE
HU
PL
CY
IT
PT
LU
BG
RO
SI
LT
Yes No
121
Figure 96. Share of products for which nutritional value information was available - By country
– Whole chicken
42%
46%
34%
85%
83%
81%
81%
75%
65%
58%
53%
49%
46%
41%
40%
34%
32%
27%
27%
27%
24%
24%
24%
19%
18%
18%
15%
9%
1%
58%
54%
66%
15%
17%
19%
19%
25%
35%
42%
47%
51%
54%
59%
60%
66%
68%
73%
73%
73%
76%
76%
76%
81%
82%
82%
85%
91%
99%
100%
EU27
EU15
EU12
FI
IE
EE
DK
UK
NL
SI
ES
SE
LV
HU
SK
DE
MT
EL
PL
RO
PT
BE
FR
IT
BG
CZ
LU
AT
LT
CY
Yes No
122
Figure 97. Share of products for which nutritional value information was available - By country
– Pork cutlets
33%
39%
22%
86%
79%
64%
62%
48%
43%
41%
41%
38%
36%
34%
33%
26%
22%
22%
20%
20%
13%
12%
11%
11%
10%
10%
6%
2%
1%
67%
61%
78%
14%
21%
36%
38%
52%
57%
59%
59%
62%
64%
66%
67%
74%
78%
78%
80%
80%
87%
88%
89%
89%
90%
90%
94%
98%
99%
100%
EU27
EU15
EU12
FI
IE
UK
NL
DE
DK
HU
MT
SE
SK
LV
EE
PL
BE
FR
ES
CZ
IT
SI
EL
AT
PT
LU
BG
LT
RO
CY
Yes No
123
Please note that assessors did not specifically ask retailer staff for this information item if it was not
present on the product label/next to the product.
Finland had the highest proportion of products with nutritional value information across the four meat
categories.
Nutritional value information was found on 47% of minced beef products assessed across the EU27.
53% of minced beef products assessed in the EU15 included this information on the label, compared
with 33% in the EU12. Finland had the highest proportion of minced beef products assessed (86%) for
which nutritional value information was available, while Slovenia had the lowest proportion (4%).
Nutritional value information was available on 54% of pork sausage products assessed across the
EU27. This was the case for 64% of pork sausages products assessed in the EU15 and 31% of EU12
products. 95% of pork sausages assessed in Finland had nutritional value information available,
compared with 5% in Lithuania.
Nutritional value information was available on 42% of whole chicken products assessed across the
EU27. This was the case of 46% of whole chicken products assessed in the EU15 and 34% in the
EU12. The highest proportion was in Finland (85%) and the lowest in Lithuania (1%).
Nutritional value information was available on 33% of pork cutlet products assessed across the
EU27. 39% of pork cutlet products assessed in the EU15 included this information, compared with
22% in the EU12. Finland had the highest proportion of pork cutlet assessments with nutritional value
information available (86%), while Romania had the lowest proportion (1%).
124
The figures below present the share of products for which nutritional value information was available
by country and meat category. Please note base sizes may be low for some sub-groups and are
indicated in brackets where relevant.
Figure 98. Share of products for which nutritional value information was available - By country
– Minced beef
125
Figure 99. Share of products for which nutritional value information was available - By country
– Pork sausages
126
Figure 100. Share of products for which nutritional value information was available - By
country – Whole chicken
Figure 101. Share of products for which nutritional value information was available - By
country – Pork cutlets
127
Nutritional value information was available on the label of 59% of organic and origin certified minced
beef products assessed. 36% of regular products displayed such information.
Nutritional value information was available on 73% of animal welfare certified pork sausages,
compared with 44% of regular products.
Nutritional value information was available on 61% of animal welfare whole chickens. In contrast,
only 18% of religiously slaughtered chickens displayed such information.
71% of animal welfare certified pork cutlets displayed nutritional value information, while 22% of
regular products included this type of labelling.
128
The figures below present the share of products for which nutritional value information was available
by retailer channel and meat category. Please note base sizes may be low for some sub-groups and
are indicated in brackets where relevant.
Figure 102. Share of products for which nutritional value information was available - By retailer
channel – Minced beef
129
Figure 103. Share of products for which nutritional value information was available - By retailer
channel – Pork sausages
130
Figure 104. Share of products for which nutritional value information was available - By retailer
channel – Whole chicken
Figure 105. Share of products for which nutritional value information was available - By retailer
channel – Pork cutlets
131
Discount stores had the highest proportion of products assessed with nutritional value labelling across
the four meat categories.
The proportion of minced beef products displaying nutritional value information is fairly stable across
retail channels, with 49% of assessed products in supermarkets and discount stores and 45% in
hypermarkets and convenience stores. The exception is markets/farms, where none of the products
assessed included such labelling.
The highest proportions of pork sausage products assessed with nutritional value labelling were
found in discount stores (57%), supermarkets (55%) and hypermarkets (53%). The lowest proportion
was found in markets/farms (15%).
50% of whole chicken products assessed in discount stores displayed nutritional value information,
while markets/farms displayed this information on 10% of the products assessed.
Discount stores had the highest proportion of nutritional value labelling (46%) among pork cutlets
products assessed, while none assessed in markets/farms displayed such information.
132
7.3 Nutritional or health claims
The figures below present the share of products for which nutritional or health claim information was
available by country and meat category. Please note base sizes may be low for some sub-groups and
are indicated in brackets where relevant.
Figure 106. Share of products for which nutritional or health claim information was available -
By country – Minced beef
20%
22%
15%
77%
42%
34%
33%
31%
27%
25%
24%
23%
22%
21%
19%
16%
15%
11%
9%
8%
8%
6%
6%
5%
4%
2%
80%
78%
85%
23%
58%
66%
67%
69%
73%
75%
76%
77%
78%
79%
81%
84%
85%
89%
91%
92%
92%
94%
94%
95%
96%
98%
100%
100%
100%
100%
EU27
EU15
EU12
HU
IE
DE
UK
FR
NL
ES
SK
CZ
LV
DK
BE
SE
FI
IT
MT
EE
EL
AT
PL
BG
RO
PT
LT
SI
LU
CY
Yes No
133
Figure 107. Share of products for which nutritional or health claim information was available -
By country – Pork sausages
20%
23%
13%
40%
37%
36%
35%
33%
29%
29%
24%
23%
23%
23%
21%
19%
18%
18%
17%
17%
14%
13%
12%
12%
7%
2%
80%
77%
87%
60%
63%
64%
65%
67%
71%
71%
76%
77%
77%
77%
79%
81%
82%
82%
83%
83%
86%
88%
88%
88%
93%
98%
100%
100%
100%
100%
EU27
EU15
EU12
SE
HU
IE
DK
DE
ES
BG
EL
CZ
UK
AT
FR
MT
LV
NL
PL
IT
BE
SK
EE
FI
RO
CY
LT
SI
LU
PT
Yes No
134
Figure 108. Share of products for which nutritional or health claim information was available -
By country – Whole chicken
20%
20%
22%
48%
44%
39%
36%
32%
27%
25%
23%
22%
21%
20%
20%
18%
18%
17%
17%
16%
15%
13%
12%
11%
10%
7%
4%
3%
80%
80%
78%
52%
56%
61%
64%
68%
73%
75%
77%
78%
79%
80%
80%
82%
82%
83%
83%
84%
85%
88%
88%
89%
90%
93%
96%
97%
100%
100%
EU27
EU15
EU12
DK
SI
HU
BG
IE
DE
EL
NL
BE
SE
SK
PL
IT
CZ
LV
UK
RO
ES
EE
FR
AT
MT
FI
LU
PT
LT
CY
Yes No
135
Figure 109. Share of products for which nutritional or health claim information was available -
By country – Pork cutlets
13%
15%
9%
41%
41%
30%
25%
20%
18%
15%
13%
13%
12%
11%
11%
10%
9%
8%
7%
5%
5%
4%
4%
3%
1%
1%
87%
85%
91%
59%
59%
70%
75%
80%
82%
85%
87%
87%
88%
89%
89%
90%
91%
92%
93%
95%
95%
96%
96%
97%
99%
99%
100%
100%
100%
100%
EU27
EU15
EU12
HU
FI
IE
DE
NL
SE
DK
PL
LV
UK
FR
IT
EL
SK
CZ
BE
EE
AT
SI
ES
MT
BG
RO
LT
LU
PT
CY
Yes No
136
Please note that assessors did not specifically ask retailer staff for this information item if it was not
present on the product label/next to the product.
Nutritional or health claim labelling was available on 20% of minced beef products assessed across
the EU27. 22% of minced beef products assessed in the EU15 displayed this information, compared
with 15% in the EU12. Hungary had the highest proportion of minced beef products with nutritional or
health claim labelling (77%) among the products assessed, while Portugal had the lowest proportion
(2%). Lithuania was the only country not to display this information on any of the products assessed.
20% of the pork sausage labels included in the audit displayed nutritional or health claims. This was
the case for 23% of EU15 products and 13% of products assessed in the EU12. Sweden had the
highest proportion of assessed pork sausage products with nutritional or health claim labelling (40%)
and Cyprus had the lowest proportion (2%).
Nutritional or health claim labelling was displayed on 20% of whole chicken products assessed
across the EU27. This proportion was the same in the EU15 (20%) and slightly higher in the EU12
(22%). Denmark had the highest proportion of assessed whole chicken products with nutritional or
health claim labelling (48%), while Portugal had the lowest proportion (3%).
Nutritional or health claim labelling was available on 13% of pork cutlets products assessed across
the EU27. 15% of pork cutlets assessed in the EU15 and 9% of EU12 cutlets displayed this
information. Hungary had the highest proportion of assessed pork cutlets products with nutritional or
health claim labelling (41%). Romania had the lowest proportion with 1%.
137
The figures below present the share of products for which nutritional or health claim information was
available by meat type and meat category. Please note base sizes may be low for some sub-groups
and are indicated in brackets where relevant.
Figure 110. Share of products for which nutritional or health claim information was available -
By meat type – Minced beef
138
Figure 111. Share of products for which nutritional or health claim information was available -
By meat type – Pork sausages
139
Figure 112. Share of products for which nutritional or health claim information was available -
By meat type – Whole chicken
140
Figure 113. Share of products for which nutritional or health claim information was available -
By meat type – Pork cutlets
Nutritional or health claim labelling was available on 40% of animal welfare certified minced beef
products. This proportion was 10% for environment/climate certified and meat slaughtered according
to religious rites.
Nutritional or health claim labelling was found on 59% of environment/climate certified pork sausages
and 13% of regular products.
Nutritional or health claim labelling was found on 49% of environment/climate certified and 12% of
regular whole chickens.
Nutritional or health claim labelling was found on 32% of animal welfare certified pork cutlets. At the
other end of the ranking, 7% of regular and environment/climate certified cutlets displayed nutritional
or health claims.
141
The figures below present the share of products for which nutritional or health claim information was
available by retailer channel and meat category. Please note base sizes may be low for some sub-
groups and are indicated in brackets where relevant.
Figure 114. Share of products for which nutritional or health claim information was available -
By retailer channel – Minced beef
142
Figure 115. Share of products for which nutritional or health claim information was available -
By retailer channel – Pork sausages
143
Figure 116. Share of products for which nutritional or health claim information was available -
By retailer channel – Whole chicken
Figure 117. Share of products for which nutritional or health claim information was available -
By retailer channel – Pork cutlets
144
21% of minced beef products assessed in supermarkets displayed a nutritional or health claim. This
is the case for 20% of products assessed in hypermarkets and discount stores. None of the minced
beef products assessed in markets/farms included this type of labelling.
25% of pork sausages assessed in discount stores displayed a nutritional or health claim label, while
the lowest proportion was 14% in markets/farms.
Mystery shoppers found nutritional or health claim labelling on 21% of whole chickens assessed in
supermarkets and hypermarkets. The lowest proportion was recorded in markets/farms (5%).
Nutritional or health claim labelling was available for 18% of pork cutlets assessed in discount stores,
but for none of the products assessed in markets/farms.
145
Annex I. – Methodology
Mystery shoppers carried out 2025 retailer visits across 27 Member States and completed 10,570
product assessments in total.
Sampling
An average of 75 retailer visits was conducted in each Member State. 100 visits were conducted in the
most populated Member States (France, Germany and the United Kingdom) and 50 in the least
populated Member States (Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta). 75 visits were conducted in all other
countries.
The purchase channel types, definitions and market shares from the 2009 survey on consumer
satisfaction with the retail distribution of goods6 were used. The sample includes supermarkets,
hypermarkets, discount stores, convenience stores, butchers and outdoor markets. Assessments were
spread across each Member State and only one visit could be completed at a given retailer.
The original sample was based on a representative sampling of meat purchase channels in the EU.
However, pilot assessments conducted in all Member States showed that smaller retailers had a
limited range of products available. It was therefore decided to maximize the number of product
assessments and to boost the number of large retailers in the sample. As a result, the sampling was
amended to include mostly supermarkets and hypermarkets, as well as 5 visits for each other
purchase channel widely used in the country. The sampling frame is available in annex III.
Structure of the product assessments
Mystery shoppers were instructed to complete a maximum of 12 product observations across 4 meat
categories for each visit. The meat categories were chosen to correspond to the categories used in
Eurostat meat price indices7 and to ensure the best comparability across Member States. The
products selected are ‘minced beef’, ‘pork sausages’, ‘whole chicken’ and ‘pork cutlets/chops.’
Within each category, mystery shoppers had to collect information for 3 product types: one regular and
two specific. Following the pilot which showed that some meat types had a limited availability, it was
decided to prioritise meat types as follows:
1. Organic
2. Origin certified
3. Animal welfare certified
4. Environment/climate certified and religiously slaughtered meat.
5. Other specific product (e.g. with health claims)
6 Ipsos (2009). Survey on consumer satisfaction with the retail distribution of goods (Report commissioned by the European
Commission, DG SANCO). Brussels, Belgium: Ipsos. Retrieved on 22-04-2011, from
http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/strategy/docs/overall_report_final.pdf
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/hicp/methodology/prices_data_for_market_monitoring
146
This means that animal welfare certified products were only assessed if no organic and origin certified
products were available. The purpose was to collect sufficient product and price information for a few
key categories.
As the mystery shopping exercise was also meant to be an availability audit, mystery shoppers did not
conduct additional assessments or visits if a meat category or type was not available. This explains
the difference between the maximum theoretical sample size, 24300 (12 products for each of 2025
visits) and the actual sample size, 10570 products. This means that in more than half of cases,
assessors did not have access to a range of meat types and categories wide enough to conduct the
12 assessments as planned.
Data collection during the visit
Mystery shoppers had to collect prices and check whether several information items were available for
each product. They were asked to look for these items on the label first (on the product or
shelf/counter) and to ask the retailer staff if this information was not otherwise available. In this case,
assessors were instructed to only ask for key information items, as asking too many or too detailed
questions would have been impractical within the scope of a mystery shopping exercise.
Assessors were also asked to buy one product at the end of each visit and to record their reason(s) for
selecting this specific product.
147
Annex II. – Fieldwork details
COUNTRY FIELDWORK DATES NUMBER OF
VISITS
MAXIMUM NUMBER OF PRODUCT
ASSESSMENTS (12 products per visit)
ACTUAL NUMBER OF PRODUCT ASSESSMENTS
AT 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 75 900 299
BE 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 75 900 450
BG 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 75 900 310
CY 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 50 600 193
CZ 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 75 900 258
DE 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 100 1200 507
DK 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 75 900 471
EE 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 75 900 338
EL 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 75 900 447
ES 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 75 900 408
FI 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 75 900 386
FR 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 100 1200 642
HU 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 75 900 289
IE 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 75 900 580
IT 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 75 900 464
LT 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 75 900 261
LU 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 50 600 247
LV 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 75 900 259
MT 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 50 600 286
NL 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 75 900 473
PL 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 75 900 203
PT 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 75 900 418
RO 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 75 900 344
SE 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 75 900 466
SI 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 75 900 377
SK 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 75 900 316
UK 15/09/11 - 03/10/11 100 1200 878
148
Annex III. – Sample frame
Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus
Supermarket / Hypermarket 55 Supermarket / Hypermarket 60 Supermarket / Hypermarket 65 Supermarket / Hypermarket 40
Convenience store 5 Convenience store 5 Convenience store 5 Convenience store 5
Discount store 5 Discount store 5 Discount store Discount store
Butchers 5 Butchers 5 Butchers 5 Butchers 5
Street market 5 Street market Street market Street market
75 75 75 50
Czech Denmark Estonia Finland
Supermarket / Hypermarket 60 Supermarket / Hypermarket 65 Supermarket / Hypermarket 55 Supermarket / Hypermarket 65
Convenience store 5 Convenience store Convenience store 5 Convenience store 5
Discount store 5 Discount store 5 Discount store 5 Discount store 5
Butchers 5 Butchers 5 Butchers 5 Butchers
Street market Street market Street market 5 Street market
75 75 75 75
France Germany Greece Hungary
Supermarket / Hypermarket 90 Supermarket / Hypermarket 90 Supermarket / Hypermarket 70 Supermarket / Hypermarket 55
Convenience store Convenience store Convenience store Convenience store 5
Discount store 5 Discount store 5 Discount store Discount store 5
Butchers 5 Butchers 5 Butchers 5 Butchers 5
Street market Street market Street market Street market 5
## ## 75 75
Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania
Supermarket / Hypermarket 70 Supermarket / Hypermarket 60 Supermarket / Hypermarket 55 Supermarket / Hypermarket 60
Convenience store Convenience store 5 Convenience store 5 Convenience store 5
Discount store Discount store 5 Discount store 5 Discount store
Butchers 5 Butchers 5 Butchers 5 Butchers 5
Street market Street market Street market 5 Street market 5
75 75 75 75
Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland
Supermarket / Hypermarket 40 Supermarket / Hypermarket 40 Supermarket / Hypermarket 65 Supermarket / Hypermarket 55
Convenience store Convenience store Convenience store Convenience store 5
Discount store 5 Discount store 5 Discount store 5 Discount store 5
Butchers 5 Butchers 5 Butchers 5 Butchers 5
Street market Street market Street market Street market 5
50 50 75 75
Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia
Supermarket / Hypermarket 65 Supermarket / Hypermarket 55 Supermarket / Hypermarket 60 Supermarket / Hypermarket 60
Convenience store Convenience store 5 Convenience store 5 Convenience store 5
Discount store 5 Discount store 5 Discount store 5 Discount store 5
Butchers 5 Butchers 5 Butchers 5 Butchers 5
Street market Street market 5 Street market Street market
Spain Sweden UK
Supermarket / Hypermarket 55 Supermarket / Hypermarket 65 Supermarket / Hypermarket 95
Convenience store 5 Convenience store 5 Convenience store
Discount store 5 Discount store 5 Discount store
Butchers 5 Butchers Butchers 5
Street market 5 Street market Street market
149
Annex IV. – Mystery shopping questionnaire
Q
no.
Shop details
1 Retailer channel: Hyperm
arket
Superm
arket
Conveni
ence
Store
Disco
unt
store
Butch
ers
Markets/
Farms
2 Shop name:
3 Address:
4 Shopper name:
5 Shopper gender:
6 Shopper age: 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+
7 Date of visit:
8 Time in:
9 Time out:
10 Time taken to collect the
information on meat.
11 Product purchased :
12 Please upload image of receipt
A Minced Beef
A1 Was the product available to
purchase in the store? Yes
No (Go to B1)
A2 How many varieties / types of
this product were available?
Variety/type of product
assessed?
Product 1 Product 2 Product 3
A3
Regular Regular Regular
Organic Organic Organic
Origin certified Origin certified Origin certified
Animal welfare
certified
Animal welfare
certified
Animal welfare
certified
150
Environment/clima
te certified
Environment/cli
mate certified
Environment/clim
ate certified
Religious
slaughter (e.g.
halal, kosher)
Religious
slaughter (e.g.
halal, kosher)
Religious
slaughter (e.g.
halal, kosher)
Other (Comment) Other
(Comment)
Other
(Comment)
N/A - only 1
product
available (Go to
B1)
N/A - only 2
products
available (Go to
B1)
A4 Price per unit shown ? Yes No Yes No Yes No
A5 Country of origin? Yes No Yes No Yes No
A6 If yes, select that which
applies
Home country Home country Home country
Other EU country Outside of the
EU Outside of the EU
Outside of the EU Other EU
country Other EU country
A7 Use by/best before date? Yes No Yes No Yes No
A8 Organic? Yes No Yes No Yes No
A9 Quality (origin) certified? Yes No Yes No Yes No
A1
0 Rearing standards? Yes No Yes No Yes No
A1
1 Nutritional value information? Yes No Yes No Yes No
N
/
A
A1
2 Nutritional or health claim? Yes No Yes No Yes No
N/A
A1
3 Standard product price?
A1
4 Product price on sale? N/A N/A N/A
A1
5
Product price per 1,000g?
N/A N/A N/A
A1
6 Location of information?
Product label Product label Product label
Shelf label Shelf label Shelf label
151
Member of staff Member of staff Member of staff
No label No label No label
A1
7
Would you have bought this
product if you had been
shopping for minced beef
today ?
If you did purchase the product
please say ‘yes’ here.
Yes
No (Go
to
Product
2 A1)
Yes
No
(Go
to
Prod
uct 3
A1)
Yes No (Go
to B1)
A1
8
Why would you have
purchased this product?
1. 1. 1.
2. 2. 2.
3. 3. 3.
B Pork Sausages
B1 Was the product available to
purchase in the store? Yes
No (Go to C1)
B2 How many varieties / types of
this product were available?
Variety/type of product
assessed?
Product 1 Product 2 Product 3
B3
Regular Regular Regular
Organic Organic Organic
Origin certified Origin certified Origin certified
Animal welfare
certified
Animal welfare
certified
Animal welfare
certified
Environment/clima
te certified
Environment/cli
mate certified
Environment/clim
ate certified
Religious
slaughter (e.g.
halal, kosher)
Religious
slaughter (e.g.
halal, kosher)
Religious
slaughter (e.g.
halal, kosher)
Other (Comment) Other
(Comment) Other (Comment)
N/A - only 1
product
available (Go to
C1)
N/A - only 2
products
available (Go to
C1)
B4 Price per unit shown ? Yes No Yes No Yes No
152
B5 Country of origin? Yes No Yes No Yes No
B6 If yes, select that which
applies
Home country Home country Home country
Other EU country Other EU
country Other EU country
Outside of the EU Outside of the
EU Outside of the EU
B7 Use by/best before date? Yes No Yes No Yes No
B8 Organic? Yes No Yes No Yes No
B9 Quality guaranteed/ high
quality / top end range? Yes No Yes No Yes No
B1
0 Rearing standards? Yes No Yes No Yes No
B1
1 Nutritional value information? Yes No Yes No Yes No
N/A
B1
2 Nutritional or health claim? Yes No Yes No Yes No
N/A
B1
3 Standard product price?
B1
4 Product price on sale? N/A N/A N/A
B1
5
Product price per 1,000g?
N/A N/A N/A
B1
6
Location of information?
Product label Product label Product label
Shelf label Shelf label Shelf label
Member of staff Member of staff Member of staff
No label No label Member of staff
B1
7
Would you have bought this
product if you had been
shopping for pork sausages
today ?
Yes
No (Go
to
Product
2 B1)
Yes
No
(Go
to
Prod
uct 3
B1)
Yes No (Go
to C1)
B1
8
Why would you have
purchased this product ?
1. 1. 1.
2. 2. 2.
3. 3. 3.
153
C Whole Chicken
C1 Was the product available to
purchase in the store? Yes
No (Go to D1)
C2 How many varieties / types of
this product were available?
Variety/type of product
assessed?
Product 1 Product 2 Product 3
C3
Regular Regular Regular
Organic Organic Organic
Origin certified Origin certified Origin certified
Animal welfare
certified
Animal welfare
certified
Animal welfare
certified
Environment/clima
te certified
Environment/cli
mate certified
Environment/clim
ate certified
Religious
slaughter (e.g.
halal, kosher)
Religious
slaughter (e.g.
halal, kosher)
Religious
slaughter (e.g.
halal, kosher)
Other (Comment) Other
(Comment)
Other
(Comment)
N/A - only 1
product
available (Go to
D1)
N/A - only 2
products
available (Go to
D1)
C4 Price per unit shown ? Yes No Yes No Yes No
C5 Country of origin? Yes No Yes No Yes No
C6 If yes, select that which
applies
Home country Home country Home country
Other EU country Other EU
country Other EU country
Outside of the EU Outside of the
EU Outside of the EU
C7 Use by/best before date? Yes No Yes No Yes No
C8 Organic? Yes No Yes No Yes No
C9 Quality guaranteed/ high
quality / top end range? Yes No Yes No Yes No
C1
0 Rearing standards? Yes No Yes No Yes No
154
C1
1 Nutritional value information? Yes No Yes No Yes No
N/A
C1
2 Nutritional or health claim? Yes No Yes No Yes No
N/A
C1
3 Standard product price?
C1
4
Product price on sale?
N/A N/A N/A
C1
5
Product price per 1,000g?
N/A N/A N/A
C1
6 Location of information?
Product label Product label Product label
Shelf label Shelf label Shelf label
Member of staff Member of staff Member of staff
No label No label No label
C1
7
Would you have bought this
product if you had been
shopping for a whole chicken
today ?
Yes
No (Go
to
Product
2 C1)
Yes
No
(Go
to
Prod
uct 3
B1)
Yes No (Go
to D1)
C1
8
Why would you have
purchased this product ?
1. 1. 1.
2. 2. 2.
3. 3. 3.
D Pork Cutlets
D1 Was the product available to
purchase in the store? Yes No
D2 How many varieties / types of
this product were available?
Variety/type of product
assessed?
Product 1 Product 2 Product 3
D3
Regular Regular Regular
Organic Organic Organic
Origin certified Origin certified Origin certified
Animal welfare
certified
Animal welfare
certified
Animal welfare
certified
155
Environment/clima
te certified
Environment/cli
mate certified
Environment/clim
ate certified
Religious
slaughter (e.g.
halal, kosher)
Religious
slaughter (e.g.
halal, kosher)
Religious
slaughter (e.g.
halal, kosher)
Other (Comment) Other
(Comment)
Other
(Comment)
N/A - only 1
product
available (Go to
END)
N/A - only 2
products
available (Go to
END)
D4 Price per unit shown? Yes No Yes No Yes No
D5 Country of origin? Yes No Yes No Yes No
D6 If yes, select that which
applies
Home country Home country Home country
Other EU country Other EU
country Other EU country
Outside of the EU Outside of the
EU Outside of the EU
D7 Use by/best before date? Yes No Yes No Yes No
D8 Organic? Yes No Yes No Yes No
D9 Quality guaranteed/ high
quality / top end range? Yes No Yes No Yes No
D1
0 Rearing standards? Yes No Yes No Yes No
D1
1 Nutritional value information? Yes No Yes No Yes No
N/A
D1
2 Nutritional or health claim? Yes No Yes No Yes No
N/A
D1
3 Standard product price?
D1
4 Product price on sale? N/A N/A N/A
D1
5
Product price per 1,000g?
N/A N/A N/A
D1
6 Location of information?
Product label Product label Product label
Shelf label Shelf label Shelf label
156
Member of staff Member of staff Member of staff
No label No label No label
D1
7
Would you have bought this
product if you had been
shopping for minced beef
today ?
Yes
No (Go
to
Product
2 D1)
Yes
No
(Go
to
Prod
uct 3
D1)
Yes No (Go
to END)
D1
8
Why would you have
purchased this product ?
1. 1. 1.
2. 2. 2.
3. 3. 3.
157
Annex V. – Comments from mystery shoppers
Mystery shoppers were asked to purchase one of the products they assessed at the end of each visit.
They were then asked to explain why they chose this product. All elements related to labeling
(organic, animal welfare certified, amount of information provided) were mentioned most often,
followed by the appearance of the meat. Other common answers were origin, price, quality and the
type of meat.
Figure 1. Comments by topic
Topic Number of
comments
Label 42
Appearance 34
Origin 27
Price 26
Quality 15
Meat type 14
Packaging 9
Convenience 6
Health 5
Retailer 5
Use by date 5
Other 3
TOTAL 191
Figure 2. Full list of comments
100% healthy
A lot of information about the rearing conditions.
a lot of meat for a small price
An organic product must respect certain quality standards in order to obtain the label.
animal treatment
Animal Treatment
Animal treatment.
Animal treatment.
Animal welfare
Animal welfare
158
Appealing appearance
Appealing appearance
Appealing appearance
Appealing Appearance
Appetizing
Approved organic
Attractive packaging
Attractive presentation
Attractive price
Attractive price.
Austrian product
availability
Because Hungarian product
because it has a closed production cycle
Because it is a product that is consumed by all the family.
Because of green energy
because of need
Because of the colour.
Because of the price.
Because of the product's quality.
Because of the product's quality.
because the origin was austria
Because they were the only ones of this sort from the store.
Best quality because of the breeding
Big and nice
Biological/ Organic
Brand
Brand is trustworthy
Bred Outdoors
British
Butcher inside the supermarket (freshly cut)
Butchers description of different types/flavours
Butcher's passion.
Certified British
Certified ecological.
Cheap due to a special offer
Cheap Price
Cheap price
Chicken looked fresh.
chicken without supporting chemicals
Choice of volume
chop was cut thin and marbled
claim about rearing standards
clean and processed
climate declared.
Colour of meat
159
Colour of the meat
complete confidence in organic products
confidence in Globus
confidence in Globus
Confidence in the origin region
Contains omega 3.
Convenient package
convenient weight and size
Corn fed
Country of Origin
Country of origin is present on the label.
Coupon
credit of the brand "Vodnany"
Cultivated in free range.
Curiosity
Cut into fine pieces
Delicious taste as already bought product
Desired quantity
Devonshire Red Corn fed chicken makes me think that it is traceable to source.
Discount on price
DLG rewarded
does not contain dyes, preservatives, flavour enhancer
Easy to prepare meal
Ecological
enough product information
Excellent value for money
expiration date
expiration date
Familiar producer
Familiar quality
Farmer name.
Favourable conditions of animal raising
Flavour
Flexible for cooking different dishes
Free grazing
Free range chicken good quality
fresh
Fresh and clean
Fresh colour
Fresh meat
Fresh minced
fresh without membranes
Fresh, does not appear that it has a lot of fat.
Fresh, grown on the farm
Freshness.
160
Geographical origin.
German quality
Gold Standard
Good amount
Good appearance
Good colour of meat
good commercial appearance
Good for different cooking menus
Good for Sunday brunch
Good information on the label
Good offer on buy 2 for 3.00.
Good packing
Good presentation of the product.
Good price, only slightly more expensive than regular
good promotional price
Good to bbq
Greek product
Guaranteed quality
Habit
Habit
Has HACCP
healthier breeding
Healthy
High quality
I bought it before and I was satisfied with it.
I know exactly where it is breeded
I like cutlets (schnitzel)
I like this brand
I prefer organic even if it is more expensive
I wanted to try it
I was pleased to see the RSPCA logo on this product. It makes me think the animals were looked after well.
information about breeding and feeding
ingredients are listed on the product label
ISO 9000
It has on its label the most detailed information on its quality.
It is a habit to buy this meat
It is made in Romania.
It looked good.
It looks tender
It seemed fresh
It seemed to be the freshest and also the label had many information.
it was a small chicken with a good price
It was the best choice among the available types of meat.
It was the only boneless pork cutlet in the store.
It was the only chicken available, and I needed for the lunch.
161
It was the only one.
It was within the Best Before Date.
Known producer (Košak).
Lincolnshire chicken from known source
Local produce
Local product
Long lasting, the date of use is long : it must be very fresh.
Looks tasty
low fat (7%)
Maxipack offer
meat directly from the producer
Met the quality standards of the package
Mid range price
NATURAL RAISED
no added water
No water added
not frozen
Not too much bone
Offer
Offer
Organic product
Packaging
practical packaging per 0,5 kg
Prepared on demand.
Price
Price
Price
Price Compared to other brands
price/quality ratio
promotion price
Quality
Rearing standards
Red label certification
Superior quality
the brand
This meat wasn't too fat.
Traceable
Trustworthy producer
Use by date expires within two days.
Value for money
Value for money
Very clean premises
way of breeding
Without MGO warranty
You can choose piece.