Critics have called the policy bureaucratic red tape, while officials say it empowers consumers to choose local products.

Hellika Kallaste, an adviser at the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture's food safety department, said: "Our interest is in making information in the supply chain accessible."

"That way, every person can make an informed choice to prefer domestic food," Kallaste went on.

Under the terms of a ministry draft legislative bill, all eateries would be required to know where their meat comes from and to share that information with customers.

"In that way, everyone can make an informed choice," Kallaste went on.

"We would like to nudge caterers toward using more domestic meat," she added.

The obligation to disclose the origin of meat would apply not only to commercial cafés and restaurants but also to school, prison, and hospital canteens.

Similar policies are already in place in other EU nations.

"France has experimented with this requirement, it is already in place in Finland, and a similar regulation will take effect in Sweden this March," Kallaste noted.

While the ministry argues that transparency will benefit consumers, some critics, including from inside the catering industry, see it as an unnecessary bureaucratic burden.

Killu Maidla, executive director of the hotels and restaurants association (Hotellide ja restoranide liit), said: "Honestly, it's completely unclear why bureaucracy is being increased like this."

"Catering establishments buy the meat that is available at the best price at the time," she went on.

"This includes not only various EU nations but also nations outside Europe," Maidla continued.

Maidla said she believes that if the ministry wants to promote local animal husbandry, it should focus on supporting farmers rather than imposing additional regulations on restaurants.

"Frankly, this kind of hurry and failure to listen to stakeholders creates frustration and confusion about why such over-regulation is necessary," Maidla went on.

She also stated that no similar rules exist elsewhere in Europe.

The bill, if passed, would require labeling for fresh, chilled, or frozen meat, but does not cover processed meat products.

As a result, the regulation would create a situation where, in one burger restaurant, a customer can see where the beef in their burger was raised, but in another, it remains undisclosed, depending on whether the ingredients used were processed or not.

On this, Kallaste said: "Here, the consumer can infer that if this information is absent, there is a strong likelihood that semi-finished products were used in food preparation rather than fresh, chilled, or frozen meat."

There are other exceptions.

Under the bill, if a restaurant offered a homemade meat dish, for instance, it must disclose the country of origin of the meat used.

However, liver sauce or quail's heart salad would not require disclosure, as heart and liver are considered offal, not meat, under the bill as it stands.

Similarly, there is no requirement in the bill to disclose the origin of the intestines used in locally produced black pudding (Verivorst) or the blood mixed therein.

However, any meat or fat included in the same product must be labeled.

Similarly, broths and stewing juices that have been strained of meat pieces are also exempt, while minced meat sauce (hakklihakaste, a staple of Estonian restaurants and canteens – ed.) must be labeled.

Kallaste explained: "We foresee that this information should be provided via a physical medium. It could be included on the menu, but it could also be on a sign."

For instance, a restaurant using solely locally sourced meat could put up a sign worded: "All our meat is sourced in Estonia."

As for minced meat from multiple sources, a simple board could list the countries of origin.

Food establishments would have until early 2027 to comply, though smaller eateries could be concerned about the cost and logistics burden of frequent updates.

Price remains the decisive factor for many businesses, Maidla said, making local meat difficult to prioritize without financial support.

Kallaste insists the regulation focuses on transparency.

At present, some restaurants in Estonia already highlight when local meat is served, while others offer no information at all.

In any case, many consumers, both at eateries and when buying from stores for home cooking, remain unaware of where the meat on their plate comes from, as EU regulations do not require country-of-origin disclosure for processed meat.

Minister: I do not support unnecessary bureaucracy

Minister of the Economy and Industry Erkki Keldo (Reform) issued a statement on Tuesday afternoon, calling the proposal to require food service establishments to disclose the origin of the meat they serve excessive bureaucracy that he certainly cannot support.

"Creating such artificial rules doesn't provide any real benefit to the consumer," Keldo stated. "It's absurd and places additional administrative burdens on businesses."

He emphasized that Estonia has a very high standard of food quality.

"Additional rules certainly aren't necessary," the minister noted.

He also added that the Estonian government has agreed on the opposite — that bureaucracy must be reduced.

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