First Euro Foie Gras face-to-face meeting in a year and a half

Euro Foie Gras’ Board was delighted to meet on 28 October for their first physical meeting in Brussels since the beginning of the pandemic. The Spanish, Hungarian, Belgian and French members sat around the table to discuss several important issues for the sector.

First of all, the Board gave an economic overview of the foie gras sector. Sales are gradually recovering thanks to the reopening of restaurants, the relaunch of events and the resumption of exports. However, the sector has noted a significant increase in production costs.

On another note, Euro Foie Gras representatives welcomed the launch of the European promotion programme and its website “On the road to foie gras”. Famous chefs, such as Leandro Gil and Ketty Fresdena in Spain, or Rozina Wossala in Hungary, ambassadors of local gastronomy, are travelling through their countries to meet foie gras producers. One goal: spread knowledge among Europeans of this delicious dish and its production process.

The issue of marketing standards was again on the table of the Board, as these are expected to be revised in the course of next year with the publication of the legislative proposal by the European Commission. Euro Foie Gras responded to the European Commission’s public consultation this summer by reiterating its position: to keep the definition of raw foie gras and add a definition for processed foie gras. This is the only way to ensure the quality of foie gras and to effectively protect the consumer.

Lastly, the Federation continued its joint reflection on animal welfare in the context of the implementation of the European “Farm to Fork” Strategy. Providing quality living conditions to their animals at all stages of the rearing process is a daily concern for all fat palmipeds farmers. Therefore, Euro Foie Gras will continue to be a force of proposal on animal welfare by contributing to the discussions on the revision of the European legislation.