Milk, meat, eggs and honey are foods of animal origin. They supply the body with high-quality proteins as well as minerals (e.g. calcium, iron, zinc, selenium, iodine) and vitamins (various B vitamins as well as vitamin D). This is why they contribute largely to a healthy and balanced diet.

Many foodstuffs of animal origin, resulting from primary production, are transformed in specialized establishments (e.g. pork-butchers, cheese factories). The objectives are to increase the diversity and shelf life of foodstuffs of animal origin as a result of careful treatment carried out under hygienic conditions and also to ensure the safeguard of important nutritive components in concentrations as high as possible.

The ordinance on foodstuffs of animal origin regulates which animal species may be used for the transformation of foodstuffs and moreover specifies the requirements for transformed foodstuffs of animal origin.