EUROPE Down & Feather Products Labelling

Source: EUROPEAN STANDARDS EN 12934:2025 & Other EN Standards

Definitions (EN 1885):

The following definitions are used in the labeling of down and feather products in Europe:

Down
Down Cluster + Plumules + Nestling Down.
Feather
Feathers (without quill feathers) are inclusive of whole and fractured waterfowl feathers.
Landfowl
Non-waterfowl feathers, such as chicken, turkey, etc.
Other Elements
The sum of elements of plumage, such as:
down fibers + feather fibers + broken & damaged feathers + milled feather + residual matter + landfowl feathers + quill feathers + foreign matter.
Class
See table 2 for the explanation of Product Classes.
Foreign Matter
Any material not derived from plumage.
Down and / or feather filled products
Article filled solely with components derived from plumage such as down and feather.

In General, component percentages, classifications and Fowl species are required to be reported on the label.

Table 1: Filling Composition (in accordance with the results of EN 12131:2018)

Etichetta Down % / Feather %	Minimum Down Cluster %	Notes
100 / 0	93	See the Product Classes in Table 2. Foreign matter: ≤2% The percentages shall be stated in groups rounded to 10%, save for blended with: 95% down and 15% down.
95 / 5	90
90 /10	85
80 / 20	75
70 / 30	65
60 / 40	55
50 / 50	45
40 / 60	35
30 / 70	25
20 / 80	15
15 / 85	11
10 / 90	6
100% Waterfowl feathers	0	<10% Landfowl

Table 2: Product Classes (in accordance with the results of EN 12131:2018)

% Other elements	Classification	Required Items on Label	Notes
< 12.5	Class I	Piuma, piumino	If the content of the other elements exceeds 20%, it is mandatory to disclose it on the label, rounded to the nearest 10%. The content of other elements shall be part of the declared feather percentage.
≥ 12.5 < 20	Class II	Piuma, piumino
≥ 20	Class III	Down, feather, other elements, Notes: If more than 50 % of other elements consists of landfowl feathers, the label may show “down, feather, landfowl feathers. If more than 50 % of other elements consists of milled feathers, the label may show “down, feather, milled feathers”.

Table 3: Waterfowl Species (IDFB 12)

Etichetta	Quantità di oca richiesta	Etichetta	Amount of Duck Allowed	Notes
Oca pura	≥ 90 % Goose	Anatra pura	≥ 90 % Duck	Any filling consisting of down of eiderduck may be labelled as “eiderdown”.
Oca	70.0 ~ 89.9 % Goose	Anatra	70.0 ~ 89.9% Duck
Goose / Duck	50.0 ~ 69.9 % Goose	Duck / Goose	50.0 ~ 69.9% Duck

Table 4: Landfowl & Blends of Landfowl / Waterfowl Species (IDFB 12)

Type of Fowl	% of Species	Denomination(s)	Notes
Landfowl	100 landfowl	Landfowl	It’s allowed to label fillings according to its plumage content of fowl species in decreasing order. Rounded off to the nearest 10%.
Blends of Landfowl / Waterfowl	≥ 90 landfowl	Landfowl
	50-89.9 landfowl	Landfowl / Waterfowl
	10-49.9 landfowl	Waterfowl / Landfowl
	< 10 landfowl	Waterfowl

FILL POWER (EN 12130:2018)

Indication of fill power is optional (See Table 5 and 6). If Fill Power is indicated, indication of the conditioning method (eg. EN 12130,A or B, or C) is mandatory.

Table 5: Labeling Indication of Fill Power in cm³/g

Label Disclosure (cm³/g)	Minimum Fill Power Value (cm³/g)	Equivalent Minimum readings in mm
75	72	33
100	95	43
125	119	54
150	143	65
175	167	76
200	190	86
225	216	98
250	240	109
275	264	120
300	288	131
325	312	142
350	336	153
375	360	164
400	384	175
425	408	185
450	432	196
475	456	207
500	485	220
525	510	232
550	534	243
575	558	254

Table 6: Labeling Indication of Fill Power in “cuin” (in³/30g)

Label disclosure (in³/30g)	Minimum Fill Power Value (in³/30g)	Equivalent Minimum readings in mm
100	95	24
150	142	36
200	190	48
250	238	60
300	285	72
350	332	84
400	384	97
450	432	109
500	480	121
550	528	133
600	576	145
650	618	156
700	672	169
750	720	181
800	768	194
850	816	206
900	873	220
950	922	232
1000	970	244

Filling Mass (Net fill weight) (EN 13088)

Allowed tolerance: ±5%

Table 7: Cleanliness (EN 12935:2001)

Item	Required or not	Requisiti	Notes
Oxygen (EN 1162)	Required	<20 mg/100g	If oxygen > 20, then Microbiological State (Bioburden EN 1884) must be tested. If oxygen >50, the filling material is not considered to be hygienically suitable, and it has to be reprocessed.
Turbidity (EN 1164)	Recommended	≥ 300 mm
pH value (ISO 3071)	Recommended	6.6 - 8.0
Fat and Oil (EN 1163)	Recommended	0.5% - 2.0%

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