Quality Standards

Velvet Industry Grading Guidelines
Industry Agreed Standards for Velvet Products

Velvet Industry Grading Guidelines

The Grading Guidelines were developed by buyers and sellers to divide velvet into different categories to allow the efficient sale of velvet.

The main characteristics that determine a grade are:

• Time of removal. An important factor in ensuring quality
• Size of stick.
• Style of velvet (species of deer, number of tynes, 1st cut or 2nd)

The guidelines are reviewed periodically to ensure they continue to meet market requirements.

	Update to Velvet Grading Guidelines September 2005 (43KB)

Industry Agreed Standards for Velvet Products

The velvet industry has developed a set of minimum standards for velvet products. A ‘tick mark’ applied to individual batches of products shows compliance with the standards.

Standards include requirements that:

• The velvet is sourced from farms with an appropriate quality assurance programme in place
• The velvet is from New Zealand
• The velvet is removed in compliance with the National Velvetting Standards Body programme to ensure the welfare of the deer
• The velvet is traceable back to farms(s) of origin
• The velvet is processed in New Zealand Government’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry licensed premises.
• The velvet in the form in which it is sold meets microbiological standards and indicators of quality.

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