Dairy farmers supplying Arla will now have to comply with a new farm assurance scheme.
The European farmers’ co-operative, which buys milk from around one in four UK dairy farmers, is rolling out its Arlagården assurance scheme to the UK.
The scheme is already in operation in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg.
Arla said the scheme was the same as the existing Red Tractor assurance programme, but with the addition of a further 16 standards.
The dairy giant, which produces Lurpak, Anchor and Cravendale, said having all of its milk across Europe under the same assurance scheme would help its ability to compete globally by giving export customers the reassurance that everything was produced to the same standard.
The most significant new standard in the scheme relates to the use of antibiotics – farmers will only be able to use antibiotics for curing or alleviating disease and illness, rather than for preventative purporses.
Arla’s head of milk and member services in the UK, Ash Amirahmadi, said: “Arlagården is an independently audited standard that proves our farmers’ commitment to producing quality milk, caring for their cows and using antibiotics and medicines responsibly. This will reassure consumers that a little extra care every step of the way means they can trust that our products are of high quality, natural, tasty and healthy.”
As part of the assurance scheme roll-out, Arla has held a series of meetings with vets across the country and it plans to hold 60 workshops for farmers to discuss antibiotic use.
The company’s consultant vet, Peter Edmondson, said: “It is absolutely crucial that Arla farmers work closely with their vets to agree how they will meet the new standards relating to antibiotics. We’ve taken the opportunity to meet with vets to outline Arla’s approach so they are in a position to support Arla farmers along the way. This is just the beginning of our journey and it is essential that we build on these foundations to deliver the standards in the long term.”