System partners

To enable all system partners in the supply chain to end chick culling as easily as possible, respeggt offers two services:

1. Gender identification in the hatching egg. respeggt installs the SELEGGT technology in hatcheries at its own expense. The personnel and operating costs are also covered by respeggt. The hatcheries pay respeggt for the gender identification service in the hatching egg at a price per analysed female hatching egg. This means that the hatcheries do not have to invest in machinery and can offer their customers chicks/ pullets "Free of Chick Culling".

2. Supply chain verification. respeggt controls the supply chain from the hatchery to the egg carton or food packaging and ensures that the added value of " Free of Chick Culling " can be guaranteed to consumers. Egg cartons and food packaging can then carry the respeggt heart label.

Thanks to this business model, all system partners in egg production can easily implement gender identification in the hatching egg and thus end chick culling. In addition, consumers can be guaranteed the added value of "Free of Chick Culling" thanks to gender identification in the hatching egg by the SELEGGT process/PLANTegg process/In Ovo process.

Please see our respeggt System Manual for further information on the services provided by respeggt.

From hen to supermarket: controlling the complete supply chain.

Typically, foodstuffs are only controlled by certified regulators at the specific levels of the supply chain that correspond to the product promise of the respective producer.

To guarantee the promise “Free of Chick Culling” in the most comprehensive way possible, respeggt has specifically developed a blockchain-based Supply Chain Monitoring System (SCMS). In contrast to the typical certification process, this blockchain technology provides a neutral platform that makes it possible to control the supply chain right from the beginning, thus ensuring that each step is transparent and traceable.

Additionally, all members of the supply chain are obliged to enter specific data into our system relating to the process of gender identification in the hatching egg, the hatching of the chicks and their 17 weeks of rearing, the rearing of the laying hens as well as the handling of the respeggt eggs. This decentralized data is automatically encrypted. Through increased transparency, this process provides a tamper-proof guarantee for our promise.

We can thereby ensure that all the principles of our respeggt promise are respected throughout the supply chain. You can thus easily identify respeggt eggs that bear our heart-shaped respeggt label and be completely sure that no chicks were killed during their production.

We are proud of our respeggt system partners.

The following packing centres, egg processing plants and foodstuff producers, among others, supply respeggt eggs to the market:

Packing centres

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Egg processing plants

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Foodstuff producers

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The respeggt system

Are you interested in becoming a respeggt system partner? For this, we recommend you first read our respeggt System Manual to become acquainted with our requirements. The System Manual defines the binding rules for securing, verifying and implementing the respeggt process throughout the respeggt supply chains.

• respeggt System Manual
• Annex 4.1 respeggt Style Guide
• Annex 4.2 Marking of respeggt eggs with a stamp
• Policies for disclosing personal data of system partners

The respeggt posters

Are you a new respeggt system partner that would like to inform your employees about our respeggt requirements? Download our posters here to display the respeggt rules for hatcheries, rearing farms, laying hen farms, packing centres and egg processing plants.

• 7 respeggt rules for hatcheries
• 7 respeggt rules for rearing farms
• 7 respeggt rules for laying hen farms
• 7 respeggt rules for packing centres
• 7 respeggt rules for egg processing plants

The respeggt barn sign

You can use the respeggt barn sign (A4 size) to identify your barns that house respeggt birds.

• respeggt Stallschild
• respeggt Barn sign
• respeggt Affiche poulailler
• respeggt Staldeur-poster

Information material

We are happy to provide you, your customers and employees with various information materials. If you need printed flyers, posters or similar, please contact us at info@respeggt.com.

• Flyer for consumers
• Flyer for laying hen farms
• The respeggt supply chain verification in brief - information document for laying hen farmers

• How do I become a respeggt system partner?

  
  We are delighted that you want to join us in our efforts to end chick culling. Please read our respeggt System Manual for further information on our requirements. After reading the System Manual, please contact Kristin Höller (kristin.hoeller@respeggt-group.com), who will then provide you with the necessary information for each of the next steps and who will support you in becoming a respeggt system partner. We look forward to receiving your request!

• How does respeggt group business model work?
  

  
  The technology for gender identification in the hatching egg is advancing rapidly. If we were to sell any expensive technical equipment to a hatchery today, the technology might soon become obsolete and possibly also be no longer competitive. To avoid the latter, respeggt installs the SELEGGT technology in hatcheries at its own expense, i.e. the technology is not sold. In addition, respeggt pays the personnel and operating costs of the gender identification.

  The financing of the gender identification in the hatching egg using the SELEGGT process is based on a price per analysed female hatching egg, which the hatcheries pay to respeggt.

• What are the advantages of respeggt supply chain verification?

  
  respeggt offers the following guarantees for system partners and consumers:

• What does respeggt supply chain verification cost?

  
  respeggt does not charge any costs for the supply chain verification - neither to the laying hen farm nor to the hatchery, the rearing farm or the egg packing centre if the gender identification in the hatching egg was carried out using the SELEGGT technology.

  On the contrary: after successful completion of the supply chain verification in the 50th week of life of the respeggt laying hens, the laying hen farm receives an expense allowance of EUR 0.05 per housed respeggt laying hen directly from respeggt if the SELEGGT process was used in the supply chain.

  If gender identification was carried out in the hatching egg using the PLANTegg or In Ovo process, respeggt charges EUR 0.09 per female chick ordered. The price is charged directly to the hatcheries. In addition, the costs of EUR 0.09 are capped at a maximum of EUR 5,000 for large flocks.

• Where can I get respeggt chicks or respeggt pullets?

  
  The respeggt approved processes of gender identification in the hatching egg are currently used exclusively in Central Europe. respeggt chicks/young pullets can be ordered directly from the layer hatcheries.

  The SELEGGT process is currently installed in the following hatcheries:

  
  In addition, respeggt carries out the gender identification in the hatching egg with the SELEGGT process in its own respeggt sexing centre in the Netherlands (Barneveld). This can supply any Central European hatchery with selected female hatching eggs of any genetics using the SELEGGT process. Thus, respeggt chicks can hatch in any Central European hatchery. Please always contact the hatcheries directly for this as well.

• How does respeggt guarantee its promise "Free of Chick Culling"?

  
  To guarantee the promise “Free of Chick Culling”, respeggt has developed a blockchain-based Supply Chain Monitoring System (SCMS). All female laying hen chicks that hatch under one of the solutions provided by respeggt are called respeggt chicks. These respeggt chicks are tracked during their complete life cycle from the hatchery through the rearing farm up until the laying hen farm. By entering the producer code on the egg into the search function on our website, anyone can check whether the egg really is a respeggt egg. This process is verified through mystery shoppers, incoming goods inspectors and consumers.

  Because respeggt always performs the processes of gender identification in the hatching egg and the fattening of respeggt male layer chicks itself, by using the SCMS, the product promise “Free of Chick Culling” is guaranteed. Eggs with the heart-shaped respeggt label on their packaging will always have come from a respeggt laying hen. So-called mass balance or book and claim approaches (aka certificate trading) are prohibited in respeggt supply chains.

• How reliable are processes of gender identification in the hatching egg?

  
  respeggt is currently solely responsible for performing the process of gender identification in the hatching egg by using the SELEGGT process. This process has a success rate of approximately 98%. As a result, there will always be a certain number of male chicks in a brood of female chicks. These incorrectly sexed male chicks are not culled, but are also reared. The cockerels must be reared until they are at least 10 weeks old and have reached a minimum weight of 1.3 kg before they are slaughtered. Because the rearing farm is compensated for these incorrectly delivered male chicks, respeggt can deliver the product promise that no male chicks are killed within the respeggt supply chains.

• When may I use the heart-shaped respeggt label?

  
  Fresh eggs and processed foodstuffs may be marked with the heart-shaped respeggt label on their packaging if:

• Is it also possible to mark egg products with the heart-shaped respeggt label "Free of Chick Culling"?
  

  
  Eggs of very small and very large sizes, cracked eggs and egg surpluses are used in egg processing plants and egg product plants to manufacture egg products with a long shelf life (whole liquid eggs, egg powder, etc.), which are then used as raw material by the food industry. These products may also be manufactured using respeggt eggs, and foodstuffs, such as egg noodles, egg liqueurs and egg salads, with the heart-shaped respeggt label “Free of Chick Culling” are already available in Germany. The food industry also has an increased interest in visibly offering the added value of “Free of Chick Culling” for processed foodstuffs containing egg products. For this reason, respeggt group has defined clear requirements for egg processing plants and foodstuff producers, allowing them to become part of a respeggt supply chain and mark their products with the heart-shaped respeggt label “Free of Chick Culling”.

  To become part of the respeggt system, the processing plant or foodstuff producer signs a respeggt Declaration of Consent. Through this Declaration of Consent, the respective system partner assures that it will comply with the requirements detailed in the respeggt System Manual. Additionally, respeggt will visit the new system partner prior to the start of the production of the respeggt egg products/respeggt foodstuffs. New packaging for end consumers bearing the heart-shaped respeggt label will be controlled by respeggt for approval.

  You can find a list of all the requirements for egg processing plants and foodstuff producers in our respeggt System Manual.

• How can consumers check whether their eggs are respeggt eggs?

  
  Consumers can search for the producer code on the landing page of our website www.respeggt.com/#code-check. On our website, consumers and system partners can enter the producer code that is printed on the respeggt egg and thereby check whether the egg really comes from a respeggt flock. In addition, they can see which solution was applied to ensure the added value of “Free of Chick Culling” through one of the following messages: “Free of Chick Culling” thanks to gender identification in the hatching egg using the SELEGGT process, PLANTegg process or In Ovo process. This offers consumers a high level of transparency and a high degree of safety in terms of the product promise.