Kraft Heinz Europe is the latest company to sign up for the European Chicken Commitment, a decision the company calls an “expansion of its animal welfare practices.”

With the commitment, the company will require 100% of the fresh, frozen, and processed chicken in its European supply chain to meet the following standards of the European Chicken Commitment:

  • Comply with all EU animal welfare laws and regulations, regardless of the country of production.
  • Implement a maximum stocking density of 30kg/m2 or less. Thinning is discouraged and if practiced must be limited to one thin per flock.
  • Adopt breeds that demonstrate higher welfare outcomes.
  • Meet improved environmental standards including:
    • At least 50 lux of light, including natural light.
    • At least two meters of usable perch space, and two pecking substrates, per 1,000 birds.
    • On air quality, the maximum requirements of Annex 2.3 of the EU broiler directive, regardless of stocking density.
    • No cages or multi-tier systems.
  • Adopt controlled atmospheric stunning using inert gas or multi-phase systems, or effective electrical stunning without live inversion.
  • Demonstrate compliance with the above standards via third-party auditing and annual public reporting on progress towards this commitment.

Kraft Heinz, in a press release, said it will work with its suppliers and the industry at large to achieve those goals by 2026.

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Rafael Oliveira, Kraft Heinz International Zone President said; “Extensive changes such as these require significant investment of time and resources, industry-wide. Kraft Heinz recognizes the complexity of this undertaking and looks forward to collaborating with our suppliers, the food industry and other stakeholders to advance these ambitious goals in a way that is sustainable for our collective businesses.”

Other companies to recently agree to follow the European Chicken Commitment standards include Nomad Foods, KFC and Compass Group.

Kraft Heinz, a diversified global food company, is one of the top turkey companies in the United States. In 2018, it slaughtered 332 million pounds of live turkeys.