AMA Seal of Approval Soon for More Products
Products with the quality seal of Agrarmarkt Austria (AMA) have voluntarily subjected themselves to a multitude of requirements that go beyond legal regulations. "We stand for traceable Austrian origin, quality, and independent controls," explained AMA Marketing Director Christina Mutenthaler-Sipek.
AMA Quality Seal for Oat Drinks from January 2026
The certified product range is being expanded step by step. Meat and milk were the starting point. The latest achievement already visible in stores is the quality seal for bread, pastries, and cereals. According to AMA, 7,000 domestic businesses are already participating. Sweet baked goods, snack pastries, and plant-based drinks are to follow soon. For the latter, implementation is planned for January 2026 - "oat drinks will be a particular focus," said Georg Leitner, head of the quality systems department at AMA Marketing GmbH, at the company's annual press conference on Wednesday. "We will also have traceable quality and clear origin for drinks in the future." Preservatives and colorants are prohibited in them. It is crucial that the main raw material - such as oats, spelt, or soy - comes from Austria and is produced according to the quality seal criteria. For sweet baked goods, they plan to start with apricot doughnuts in the coming season - the necessary preparations are largely completed according to the information provided.
Focus Areas Planned for AMA Quality Seal
In parallel, the AMA organic seal, which is currently mainly used in the dairy sector and only to a small extent for pork, is to be gradually expanded. "We want to consciously set focus areas - plant-based and organic," said Leitner. "What we don't have on the radar are meat substitute products," added Mutenthaler-Sipek. "The plant-based sector is important, but plant-based substitute products are currently declining." The AMA organic seal has been around for 30 years, and the quality seal for 32 years. Meat, milk, eggs, vegetables, and fruit were the starting points for certifications. Meanwhile, there are societal changes. "Meat is animal production - that's a very sensitive topic," explained the AMA Marketing Director. "Meat advertising is simply subject to change." In the summer campaign, endowed with 1.8 million euros, the AMA chose the slogan "Finally grilling again" and focuses on the shared enjoyment of all quality seal products - from vegetables to meat. "It's about regional quality over anonymous quantity," emphasized Mutenthaler-Sipek. Twenty-five years ago, they could still advertise with "Meat delivers."
AMA Quality Seal: More Controls and More Complaints
The promised quality requires multifaceted controls. 2024 was a record year with over 30,000 controls. There were complaints in just under 10,000 of them, only 252 of which were serious and resulted in at least a temporary withdrawal of the AMA quality seal. Often, it is only about minor violations that need to be rectified. Both the number of controls and the number of complaints have increased. The reasons were, on the one hand, stricter animal husbandry requirements (the new AMA quality seal "Animal Husbandry Plus" for dairy farms) - tethering has been banned since 2024 - and the annual instead of quadrennial controls for milk. "We need to communicate more," emphasized the AMA Marketing Director. This year, they aim to manage with 25,000 controls. "We are focusing more on prevention and digitalization," said Mutenthaler-Sipek. According to the information provided, the "quality community" includes over 50,000 Austrian AMA quality seal businesses and over 5,000 licensees who also finance the system. The AMA quality seal for bread and baked goods was "successfully established" in 2024.
(APA/Red)
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