The AMA quality label programme for fresh meat was developed by recognised experts from agriculture, the meat economy and food trade as well as the butchers’ trade. Wherever you see this symbol, you can be sure: this is a high-quality strictly controlled product, the origin of which is 100% traceable.
Strictly speaking, the AMA quality label means that the animals were born, bred, slaughtered, cut and packaged in Austria. All businesses in this production chain, from farmer to butcher, are subject to strict inspections which make continuous transparency possible. The guidelines for this origin and quality programme surpass the already international model legal provisions for meat production in Austria (see also: www.ama.at). The AMA quality seal is officially recognised and is subject to the guidelines of the Federal Ministry for a worthwhile Austria.
Both locations in Wolfsberg and Straß are AMA-certified
In fulfilling specific additional requirements, the company receives the AMA – organic –quality seal. This identifies biologically produced foodstuffs and, aside from the EU organic logo, is the only official seal for organic foods.
What makes the AMA – organic – quality seal different from the AMA quality seal? Among other things, the fact that even the raw materials (e.g. the animal feed) must be 100% traceable. If a farmer wants to work as an AMA organic business, they must fulfil these specific criteria, for example:
- The animal feed used must come from their own agriculture and must be produced without the use of chemically synthetic fertiliser, plant or storage protection agents.
- The animals must be allowed to roam free for half of the year (180 days) each year; the AMA-defined minimums for stall area, daylight and bedding material must also be guaranteed.
You can find more information on the AMA website (AMA organic seal). Our business “Steirerfleisch/Wolfsberg” is a certified organic slaughter and meat cutting plant (organic control code: AT-BIO-902).
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’sus‘ is an identification system for pork (analogous to this there is ‘bos‘ for beef). This guideline, also issued by AMA, regulates the legally required measures on labelling and registration and information about connected content on the label. Now, what is the difference from the AMA quality seal described above?
The AMA quality seal is an origin and quality assurance system: Where you see an AMA quality label, that must be 100% Austrian. And not only must it be Austrian in there, but the production must also be subject to certain regulations. Some companies in the past did not want to operate to the full extent in terms of the AMA quality seal, but could officially prove that the animals were purely Austrian in origin. So, strictly speaking, the sus guideline only provides transparent information about origin, from the animal to the packaged cut of meat. A German designation of origin ‘sus’-DE (Deutschland) is also possible – yet this is almost never seen in practice.
As soon as you see “AAA sus“ or “AT/AT/AT sus“ on the label, you know that the meat comes from Austrian animals. You can find more information about this in the official guidelines.
Steirerglück is our own programme for which we went into cooperation with Styrian farmers: the animals are therefore not just only from Austria – no, they come exclusively from Styria. With this, we would like to promote regional origin and make a contribution to sustainability.
Our company is located in the middle of southern Styria – surrounded by many family-run farms. With the Steirerglück programme, we don’t need lengthy transportation of the living animals or the meat from the slaughterhouse to the processing operation. This is our contribution to the issue of sustainability and ecology.