Study on animal welfare labelling (2022)

Cerebrus Associates has recently assisted ICF to gather evidence to support potential initiatives concerning animal welfare labelling in the European Union. The study has involved collecting and analysing qualitative and quantitative data on consumers’ awareness of animal welfare standards and demand for further information. It has also involved gathering data on existing labelling schemes with animal welfare claims found in the EU and assessing their designs and impacts. The work was commissioned by the European Commission (Directorate General for Health and Food Safety, DG SANTE).

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Chicken welfare at catching

The ways in which chickens are caught can cause injuries and millions of chickens arrive dead at the slaughterhouse each year (dead-on-arrival [DOA]: 0.1% to 0.6%).

We conducted a systematic review to better understand the welfare impacts of various catching methods for laying hens and broiler chickens. Papers were screened against clear inclusion and exclusion criteria. Twenty-two papers met the criteria and were included, grouped around three themes. Each paper was assessed for the risk of possible bias in six domains (no randomization, no blinding of assessors or data analysts, not reporting missing data, selective reporting, or other types of bias) and three levels (low risk; some concerns; high risk), as well as an overall bias judgement.

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Study to support the evaluation of the European Union strategy for the protection and welfare of animals 2012-2015

Cerebrus Associates has recently worked in partnership with ICF to conduct a study to support the evaluation of the European Union strategy for the protection and welfare of animals (2012-2015)Our work evaluated whether the Strategy contributed to its objectives in an effective and efficient way by considering these evaluation criteria in line with the Better Regulation Guidelines: relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, and EU added Value. The work was commissioned by the European Commission (Directorate General for Health and Food Safety, DG SANTE).

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Distraction and the inhibition of responses for food reward after satiation

Multi-tasking with electronic devices, such as our smart phones or computers, has become common behavior in everyday life, and increasingly occurs during consumption of food. Such “distracted eating” has been shown to cause overeating, is associated with increased BMI, and with increased choices of palatable foods. However, it is unclear how distraction increases food intake. This study aimed to assess how distraction affects motivated, goal-directed responses for food reward after satiation.

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Oro-sensory exposure, eating rate, satiation and endocrine responses

Greater oro-sensory exposure (OSE) increases insulin responsiveness. In contrast, pancreatic polypeptide responses are stronger when OSE is reduced and the eating rate (ER) is fast. Insulin and PP responses may mediate the independent effects of OSE and ER on food intake. These may be beneficial eating strategies, particularly for type 2 diabetic patients, to control food intake and maintain glucose homeostasis.

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Increased oro-sensory exposure duration decreases meal size, but increases in taste intensity do not affect meal size

Oro-sensory exposure duration and taste intensity were manipulated using model foods. In this Project ‘Satiation’ study, increased oro-sensory exposure duration decreased meal size, and increased taste intensity did not affect meal size. Microstructure of eating behavior characteristics may explain differences in intake.

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