Animal Welfare
We are the first dairy industry in the Azores to obtain animal welfare certification – Welfair.
This certification confirms our commitment to ensuring that every animal is treated with respect, care and dedication.
We adopt sustainable, responsible and ethical practices towards our animals, ensuring:
- Good nutrition and access to water;
- Appropriate housing conditions;
- Health, disease prevention and the absence of unnecessary pain;
- Natural behaviours, freedom of movement and social interaction.
Within Grupo Barcelos, the following companies are certified in animal welfare: Francisco Helvídio Barcelos, Maria José Barcelos, A Pastagem and Quinta dos Açores.
Quality
Our Quality Team is present at every stage of the production process, ensuring that every Quinta dos Açores product meets the standards and requirements we have set ourselves.
What we guarantee:
- Strict compliance with good hygiene and manufacturing practices;
- Continuous assessment of the texture, weight and labelling of our products;
- International IFS Food certification across our entire meat production area.
We work with quality and safety and comply with HACCP requirements.
Sustainability
Aware of the impact that our actions and projects can have on the people we interact with every day, the regional economy and our environment, Grupo Barcelos is committed to defining and implementing measures aimed at managing and reducing our impact. Some of the measures we have implemented include:
We promote an active gender equality policy
Both in recruitment and in promotion to management positions. Across the Group, we generally maintain a ratio of 49% men and 51% women.
We encourage the recruitment of young people
We actively recruit interns and subsequently integrate them into the company, based on merit
These account for approximately 10% of our electricity consumption
We have an active waste valorisation policy
Whey is provided for animal feed; Meat processing by-products (fat and bones) are sent for further processing; Used cooking oil is sent for processing; Stainless steel and iron are sent for recycling.
We prioritise the use of reusable pallets and boxes
Or we choose sustainable and/or recyclable packaging. We use cardboard certified as originating from sustainably managed forests and are members of the Ponto Verde packaging recycling system.
We regularly review the sizes of the vacuum bags we use
Ensuring they are as closely adapted as possible to our products, thereby avoiding unnecessary waste
We promote an active policy of reusing printed materials
Using paper for drafts in the office and prioritising the digitalisation of our processes
We provide coaching and training to the livestock farmers we work with
Seeking to develop better animal management and welfare practices
We promote biodiversity and the preservation of local breeds
e.g. Carne dos Açores PGI and Ramo Grande beef.
We prioritise and promote the development of local partnerships
More than 90% of the Group's purchases are made within the region.
We have approximately 103 hectares of permanent pasture
That is, land that is not tilled and therefore contributes to carbon sequestration, of which 75.4 hectares are being converted to organic production.