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Euro Foie Gras

EFG

Euro Foie Gras is the European federation representing foie gras producers.

Lobbying Activity

Euro Foie Gras defends collective housing and stricter import rules

15 Jul 2025
Topic — The European Commission is revising legislation on on-farm animal welfare standards.
Message — Euro Foie Gras calls for the upholding of existing collective housing systems. It argues these systems are not cages and comply with animal welfare recommendations. It also urges clauses requiring imported products to comply with European standards.123
Why — Protecting current housing systems avoids new capital costs and guards against cheap imports.45
Impact — International competitors such as China lose their market advantage due to diverging standards.6
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Meeting with Antonella Rossetti (Cabinet of Commissioner Christophe Hansen) and Aliénor

18 Jun 2025 · Poultry meat marketing standards; animal welfare; animal health / avian flu; laboratory meat

Meeting with Stanislav Stoyanov (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

24 Mar 2025 · Exchange of views

Meeting with Maravillas Abadía Jover (Member of the European Parliament)

13 Mar 2025 · Transporte Animal

Meeting with Christophe Grudler (Member of the European Parliament)

12 Mar 2025 · Politique industrielle européenne

Meeting with Borja Giménez Larraz (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

12 Mar 2025 · Animal welfare during transport

Meeting with Veronika Vrecionová (Member of the European Parliament, Committee chair)

12 Mar 2025 · Future of Foie gras in the EU, including Animal Welfare

Meeting with Daniel Buda (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

12 Mar 2025 · Animal Welfare during Transport

Meeting with Olivér Várhelyi (Commissioner) and

13 Feb 2025 · Animal welfare and animal health

Meeting with Eric Sargiacomo (Member of the European Parliament)

8 Oct 2024 · Agriculture et enjeux européens du secteur de production de foie gras

Meeting with Elena Nevado Del Campo (Member of the European Parliament)

8 Oct 2024 · Exchange of views

Meeting with Valérie Hayer (Member of the European Parliament)

8 Oct 2024 · Divers

Meeting with Benoit Cassart (Member of the European Parliament)

8 Oct 2024 · Animal welfare

Meeting with Céline Imart (Member of the European Parliament)

8 Oct 2024 · Agriculture

Meeting with Valérie Deloge (Member of the European Parliament)

8 Oct 2024 · La filière du Fie Gras, enjeux de label et de commercialisation

Meeting with Gabriella Gerzsenyi (Member of the European Parliament)

8 Oct 2024 · Introductory meeting and current legislative developments affecting the production of foie gras in the EU

Meeting with András Tivadar Kulja (Member of the European Parliament)

8 Oct 2024 · Foie gras situation in Europe

Meeting with Gilles Pennelle (Member of the European Parliament) and Aliénor

8 Oct 2024 · Les enjeux du secteur du foie gras

Meeting with Viktória Ferenc (Member of the European Parliament)

8 Oct 2024 · Presentation

Euro Foie Gras warns against new animal transport rules

11 Apr 2024
Topic — The EU is revising legislation regarding animal welfare during transport operations.
Message — The federation requests an impact analysis for ducks and geese before final decisions. They want to maintain current space per animal and exclude loading times.12
Why — This would help producers avoid new administrative burdens and higher production costs.3
Impact — Animal welfare advocates lose as birds would remain in crowded transport conditions.45
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Response to Review of poultry marketing standards

17 May 2023

European foie gras producers are committed to providing European consumers and restaurateurs with a product quality that matches the exceptional delicacy that is foie gras, a European cultural and gastronomic heritage. The European Federation of Foie Gras (Euro Foie Gras) underlines the key role played by marketing standards in supporting sustainable food systems, the preservation and promotion of European agricultural know-how, European culinary heritage and the diversity of European farm types. Euro Foie Gras also defends the freedom of citizens to choose the food they wish to consume. To this end, each consumer must be able to make informed choices without being the victim of deceptive and fraudulent practices. In this context, the European foie gras sector welcomes the draft delegated act on marketing standards for poultry meat, including foie gras. In particular, Euro Foie Gras: Supports the maintenance of the definition of raw foie gras in the draft delegated act: Although the weights included in the legislation are below the average weight of raw foie gras produced and marketed, the sector defends maintaining this definition for several reasons: - Foie gras is a prestigious and high-value product. The inclusion in 1991 of its definition in the EU marketing standards has effectively preserved the level of quality expected for this delicacy and protected consumers against fraud. - Fat palmipeds must have been fed in such a way as to cause a fatty cellular hypertrophy of the liver. Liver weights - 300g for ducks and 400g for geese - must be maintained to ensure that the liver has been sufficiently fattened and this, in the consumers interest. These weights are based on several scientific studies (INRAE), including a recent study entitled "NormoFoie" by the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment, which concludes that "only duck livers weighing more than 300 g have at least 80% of hepatocytes (liver cells) fattened". - The influence of liver weight on consumer preferences has also been proven by the NormoFoie study. Sensory and hedonic tests carried out on a consumer panel showed that there is a preference for the 420-520g weight range over lighter (duck) livers. This difference in fattening and therefore in product quality is also clearly visible, particularly in terms of colour, which is not uniform as required by the current legislation. - These minimum weights represent a simple and effective means of control available to the European and national authorities to avoid fraud. - While European countries account for 95% of the world's foie gras production, new non-EU producer countries are emerging, increasing the risk of competition on the internal market. Calls for the inclusion of a definition of processed foie gras in the legislation: Processed foie gras is not defined by current EU legislation. This legal vacuum means that consumers are not protected against fraudulent practices on this product which represents 80% of foie gras sold to final consumers. As a result, products marketed as "foie gras" on the European market may actually contain too little or no foie gras. Euro Foie Gras also stresses that the inclusion of such a definition would have no impact on the final price of the product and would not create additional administrative constraints since simple methods of analysis and control already exist, notably in France.
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Response to Use of veterinary medicinal products for diseases in terrestrial animals

31 Aug 2022

The European poultry sector, including fat palmipeds (ducks and geese), has suffered from recurrent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) over the last five years, with severe economic consequences. In addition, 2021-2022 was the largest outbreak so far in Europe. As most EU Member States have been affected, avian influenza is clearly a European challenge. It is also a horizontal problem as the entire poultry sector and all production systems have been impacted. With 90% of the animal's life spent outdoors, open-air is the DNA of foie gras production. However, in order to cope with successive epizootics, fat palmiped breeders have invested massively in and implemented strict biosecurity and surveillance measures aimed at preventing and combating avian influenza, as well as limiting the risks of its spread in the future. These measures include the sheltering of animals, the implementation of biosecurity plans on farms (changing room - “sas sanitaire”-, delimitation of public areas/breeding areas, vehicle circulation plans, etc.), major investments in the cleaning and disinfection of animal transport crates and trucks, analyses prior to movement, the reduction of densities, and the increase in the duration of the waiting period for sanitary reasons - “vide sanitaire”. Moreover, these measures have been reinforced over the years; for example, in 2022, in France, a complementary density reduction programme in areas at risk of spreading has been planned in the South Adour basin. In this context, the foie gras sector welcomes the European Commission's draft delegated act allowing the implementation of vaccination in the EU and calls for its swift implementation. Indeed, despite the many efforts made by farmers in terms of biosecurity, avian influenza has not been eradicated. This is why, Euro Foie Gras considers that vaccination represents an indispensable complementary tool for the prevention and control of HPAI, in addition to biosecurity measures which remain and will remain the cornerstone of the fight against this disease. Furthermore, the protection of breeding flocks through vaccination, 90% of which were decimated in the Pays de Loire region (France) during the winter of 2021/2022, is becoming a survival issue for this outstanding sector. The resilience measures in the fat palmipeds sector will lead to the relocation of part of the laying farms in this region, which accounts for 75% of the supply of French ducklings and around 50% of the world's ducklings. However, it is essential that this new vaccination tool goes hand in hand with the possibility of maintaining exports to third countries. In other words, the acceptability of the principle of HPAI vaccination must be strengthened in international trade. Therefore, Euro Foie Gras calls on the European Commission to rapidly exchange with the EU's trading partners to ensure that this approach is accepted and does not hamper trade in any way. The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) rules should also be enforced by all partners, as these rules do not provide for trade restrictions when a country vaccinates.
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Meeting with Sara Skyttedal (Member of the European Parliament)

12 Jul 2022 · Foie gras production

Meeting with Sara Skyttedal (Member of the European Parliament)

10 May 2022 · Foie Gras Production

Euro Foie Gras demands equal standards for food imports

14 Mar 2022
Topic — This consultation assesses applying EU health and environmental standards to imported agricultural products.
Message — The federation insists that imports from third countries must comply with European health and welfare standards. They also suggest adding marketing standards for processed products to prevent fraud and protect consumers.12
Why — Strict import rules would protect the competitiveness of European foie gras producers.3
Impact — Non-EU producers face higher costs to meet strict European health and welfare standards.4
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Euro Foie Gras demands level playing field for welfare labels

23 Aug 2021
Topic — This consultation proposes an EU framework for transparent animal welfare labelling for food.
Message — The federation requests that new requirements are scientifically assessed and accompanied by financial support and transition periods. They demand a level playing field against imports from third countries. Finally, they prefer a broader sustainability label over mandatory animal welfare labelling.123
Why — Financial support and import restrictions would protect their market share and income.45
Impact — Third-country producers would lose competitive advantage if forced to meet EU standards.67
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Meeting with Frans Timmermans (Executive Vice-President) and European farmers and

31 May 2021 · Exchange on Farm to Fork Strategy with European Livestock Voice

Response to Revision of EU marketing standards for agricultural products

15 Feb 2021

The European Federation of Foie Gras, Euro Foie Gras, fully agrees with the European Commission that “Marketing standards help facilitate the functioning of the internal market, keep food of unsatisfactory quality off the market, provide relevant information to consumers, and ensure a level playing field for competing products.” Euro Foie Gras also insists on the key role played by marketing standards in preserving and promoting the European agricultural know-how, the European culinary heritage as well as the diversity of European agricultural types of farming. The Federation supports the European Commission’s willingness to provide better food information to consumers and to support sustainable food systems. Moreover, citizens’ freedom to choose the food they want to eat should be preserved and each consumer should be able to make informed choices without being victims of misleading and fraudulent practices. That is why, Euro Foie Gras calls for: • Maintaining the definition of raw foie gras in its current wording; • Completing this text with the insertion of the definition of processed foie gras. Since its inclusion in 1991 in the EU marketing standards, the definition of raw foie gras has enabled to efficiently preserve the high-quality level expected from this delicacy and thus, protect consumers against frauds. The current definition must be maintained for several reasons, mainly: - Foie gras is a prestigious and high-value product - Waterfowl must have been fed in such a way as to cause a fatty cellular hypertrophy of the liver. The weight of the livers - 300 g for ducks and 400 g for geese - must be maintained to ensure that the liver has been effectively fattened and in the consumer’s interest. These weights are based on several scientific studies including a recent one titled "NormoFoie" which concludes that “Only livers whose weight exceeds 300 g have at least 80% of fattened hepatocytes”. - The influence of liver weight on consumer preferences has also been proven by the NormoFoie study. Sensory and hedonic tests carried out on a panel of consumers showed that there is "a preference for the weight range of 420-520 g over light livers". This difference in fattening and therefore in the quality of the product is also clearly visible, especially in terms of color, which is not uniform as stipulated in the current regulation. - These minimum weights are the only available means for European and national authorities to control the product in a simple way. Deleting the current definition or watering it down would open the door to fraud and deception, as it was the case in the past. Regarding processed foie gras, consumers are in a vulnerable position since they are not protected against fraudulent practices that exist on this product due to the absence of a definition at the EU level. It means that we can see on the European market, products marketed “foie gras” which, in reality, contain too little or no foie gras at all. With processed foie gras representing 80% of the foie gras sold to end consumers, only this definition will provide them full protection. Euro Foie Gras wishes to point out that such an inclusion would have no impact on the final price of the product and that it would not create additional administrative constraints since simple methods of analysis and control already exist, in particular in France. To conclude, Euro Foie Gras is convinced that all the benefits attached to the definition, at the EU level, of raw and processed foie gras cannot be achieved by the Member States or the sector acting on their own. Fat palmipeds are bred in 5 EU countries but the delicacy is consumed in the majority of European countries. An ambitious EU definition of raw and processed foie gras is therefore of particular relevance and importance to achieve harmonization in the internal market.
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Meeting with Ines Prainsack (Cabinet of Commissioner Stella Kyriakides), Karolina Herbout-Borczak (Cabinet of Commissioner Stella Kyriakides), Panayiotis Pourgourides (Cabinet of Commissioner Stella Kyriakides)

9 Nov 2020 · Exchange of views with Euro Foie Gras producers on their sector and EC priorities on animal welfare, animal health and slaughter of animals.

Meeting with Lukas Visek (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

10 Jun 2020 · Sustainable food systems

Meeting with Catherine Geslain-Laneelle (Cabinet of Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski) and Aliénor

1 Apr 2020 · To present the European foie gras sector and to discuss European issues, in particular marketing standards for poultry.

Response to Farm to Fork Strategy

13 Mar 2020

The European Federation of Foie Gras – Euro Foie Gras – welcomes the willingness of the European Commission to address the issue of food sustainability in a holistic way by “designing a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system” under the Green Deal. All the actors of the Federation, which brings together the different stages of the food chain in the five European producing countries , are committed to food quality, animal health and welfare, environmental sustainability and good information to consumers while ensuring a decent revenue to the breeders and contributing to the life of rural areas. Euro Foie Gras looks forward to working with the European Commission on the Strategy as well as on the various texts that will stem from it. The Federation's contribution is attached.
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Meeting with Tom Tynan (Cabinet of Commissioner Phil Hogan) and Aliénor

13 Mar 2017 · Business discussion

Meeting with Marco Valletta (Cabinet of Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis), Nathalie Chaze (Cabinet of Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis) and Aliénor

13 Mar 2017 · Avian influenza epidemic affecting the European foie gras sector

Meeting with Tom Tynan (Cabinet of Commissioner Phil Hogan)

13 Mar 2017 · Business discussion

Meeting with Tom Tynan (Cabinet of Commissioner Phil Hogan)

13 Jan 2016 · Business discussion