- QS now offers the add-on module
Deforestation-free soy
- No goods separation and no additional work for livestock owners, deforestation-free soy becomes standard in QS scheme
- QS scheme participants prepare for future EU requirements
For the feed sector, QS has now published the guideline for the QS add-on module Purchase of deforestation-free soy
. Interested parties can download the document from the QS website. As of April 1st, 2023, certification according to this add-on module will be possible and feed companies will be able to label their products with the QS certification mark in addition to the QS-Sojaplus add-on.
With the introduction of this add-on module in the QS scheme, we are already paving the way for our scheme participants to meet the challenges that all companies will face with the new EU regulation on the use of deforestation-free soy in feed,
Katrin Spemann, Division Manager Feed, Agriculture and Animal Health at QS Qualität und Sicherheit GmbH, explains the launch of deforestation-free soy in the QS scheme. Our requirements exclude both legal and illegal deforestation and also demand compliance with other sustainability criteria.
As the cultivation of soy in the countries of origin is not directly certified by QS, sustainability standards for primary production are recognized. They exclude illegal and legal deforestation from 31.12.2020. In addition, primary standard owners must operate according to defined requirements regarding the inspection system and organization.
After an introductory phase, feed producers and traders who process and trade soy products must prove in the QS scheme from 01.01.2024 via their certification that their soy has been produced in accordance with the requirements. In the introductory phase and as long as the EU regulation still allows it, the QS scheme relies on several options: physical goods separation or compensation via mass balancing or certificates (book & claim). This creates transparency and clarity along the entire meat-producing value chain. From 2024, all scheme participants and consumers can rely on the fact that the soy used in QS feed is certified deforestation-free. For agriculture, the meat industry and the trade, this also means that expensive and time-consuming goods separation is not necessary.
Click here for the guideline for the QS add-on module Pourchase of deforestation-free soy.
