A total of 83.8 % of the milk supplied to Hochwald was placed in the quality class S. This strongly indicates that it is high quality and is also an indication of healthy udders and sustainable cattle farming. Our quality has been at a high level for years.

Hochwald Foods has been involved in the certification and production of GMO-free milk for several years now. The claim to be “GMO free” places high demands on our farmers because the animal feed cannot contain any genetically modified plants. This claim is awarded by VLOG, the German Association of Food without Genetic Engineering (Verband Lebensmittel ohne Gentechnik), with their “GMO free” label (“Ohne Gentechnik”). Compliance is ensured through external audits and keeping in close contact with our milk suppliers. As of 1/1/2020, our cooperative’s milk will be 100% “GMO free”. https://www.ohnegentechnik.org/

100% of our cooperative’s milk is certified by QM-Milch (the German quality assurance standard for milk) and has been since 2004. QM-Milch sets strict verifiable quality standards and is the business-to-business standard for milk producers and dairy. The QM-Milch standard lays out requirements that go beyond what is legally required and beyond the guidelines for best practices. The standard ensures the entire production process is transparent and traceable. https://www.qm-milch.de/ 

The sustainability module of QM-Milch collected data on milk production in terms of the environment, the economy, animal welfare and human affairs nationwide in Germany for the first time using a questionnaire. The goal was to create a scientific fact-based database on the sustainability of our farms and to initiate a continuous learning and development process. Approximately 95% of our suppliers participated in the pilot project.