Netto Marken-Discount and its parent group Edeka are set to improve animal welfare standards across its own-brand meat range.
The two retailers are converting frozen own-brand poultry products to housing type 2 or higher.
This means the animals have at least 10% more space in the barn than required by law and that they have additional equipment available to them, as well as other facilities.
Housing Type 2
With this move, Edeka and Netto Marken-Discount are pursuing their objective of gradually improving the rearing criteria across their range of meat.
In the area of fresh self-service poultry products, the switch to housing type 2 has already been completed.
The subject of animal welfare and its development are part of the ecological and social responsibility of the two retail groups.
Christina Stylianou, head of Netto Corporate Communications, said, "We see our commitment to animal welfare as a continuous process that encompasses the entire value chain. With the further changeover to level 2 husbandry in our own brand range, we are taking the next, consistent step and offering customers a more sustainable purchase option for poultry items."
Animal Welfare
The improvement of animal welfare in livestock husbandry is an important concern for Edeka and Netto Marken-Discount.
Both groups are founding members and contributors to the Tierwohl Initiative (ITW), which seeks to improve animal welfare conditions.
Since its launch in 2015, the Edeka network alone has paid more than €200 million into the programme, making an important contribution to enabling the participating farmers to convert their farms to meet animal welfare standards.
Edeka and Netto Marken-Discount also involve their partners from agriculture in their own regional branded meat programmes and support them with long contract periods and guaranteed purchase quantities.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Conor Farrelly. For more Retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
