New kind of pork from Danish Crown for sale in nearly 500 Danish Netto stores

The excessive use of antibiotics in pigs can in the long term pose a threat to public health in Denmark, as it increases the risk of the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria. Consequently, Danish Crown is now introducing meat from pigs reared without the use of antibiotics on the Danish market.

For several years, the world’s biggest pork exporter has been selling antibiotic-free (ABF) pork to customers abroad. However in light of a growing demand from Danish consumers for healthy food products and with the support of Salling Group, Denmark’s biggest retailer, Danish Crown is now making the meat available on its domestic market.

- As a food company, we can influence the development of tomorrow’s foods. In 2015 we launched a project which involved rearing pigs without the use of antibiotics, and today, more than 40 Danish farmers supply ABF pigs to Danish Crown. A natural next step is to make ABF pork available to Danish consumers. I’m therefore delighted that Salling Group and Netto are now giving Danes the opportunity to buy ABF meat and contribute to the continued development of this production method, says Jais Valeur, Group CEO of Danish Crown.

Salling Group shares Danish Crown’s views, and is therefore supporting the ambitious initiative, which will develop the agricultural sector and, not least, provide consumers with an alternative to other types of pork. The procurement price of ABF pork is higher than the price of ordinary conventional pork, so Per Bank, Group CEO of Salling Group, sees the initiative as an investment:

- As Denmark’s largest retail group, we can make a positive contribution to public health. This is why we’ve decided to sell the new type of meat at the same price as ordinary conventional pork, even though it is more expensive for us to buy. We see it as an investment in public health. Together with Danish Crown and via our chains, we can help to drive the shift towards reducing antibiotics use, says Per Bank.

ABF replacing ordinary conventional pork in all Netto stores
Specifically, the new initiative means that all conventional pork in Netto’s standard range will, from week 35, be supplied from pigs reared without the use of any antibiotics. This allows consumers to make an active choice when buying pork, although the taste, fat percentage and price are all unchanged compared to ordinary conventional pork.

- From now on, customers will be able to buy pork chops, Cumberland sausages and pork mince from pigs which have never been treated with antibiotics, and at the price that they are used to paying for conventional products. We are seeing a trend where consumers have more views on the products they buy – both from the perspective of  health and for the sake of the planet. This also applies to pork. With the launch of meat from pigs reared without the use of antibiotics in all of our almost 500 Danish Netto stores, we are now making it available to all of Denmark, says Martin Hasgard Olesen, Head of Assortment and Marketing, Netto Denmark. 

Danish ABF production is world-leading 
Danish ABF production is world-leading and is being followed by a huge research project funded by the Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark’s Green Development and Demonstration Programme. The project’s findings will be used to reduce the use of antibiotics both in Denmark and worldwide. 

As it is, conventional and organic pork in Danish cold counters have no antibiotics have no antibiotic residues and Danish use of antibiotics in pig production is among the lowest in Europe . However, unlike the ABF pigs, the pigs can have been treated with antibiotics, only the antibiotics will have left the pig’s body before the animal is slaughtered. In ABF production, the use of antibiotics is avoided throughout the entire life of the pig.

- The difference is about prevention rather than cure. ABF production requires much more supervision of the individual pigs, and the producers are, among other things, extra focused on cleaning the pig buildings to keep their herds healthy and reduce the spread of infection among the pigs, explains Jais Valeur, Group CEO of Danish Crown.

Meat from pigs reared without the use of antibiotics is being introduced in Netto’s 497 stores from week 35. Over the next couple of weeks, the new type of pork will replace the ordinary conventional pork in Netto’s standard product range.