The Wendy’s Company has pledged responsible antibiotic use and to improve the housing conditions of the animals it uses in its food by the year 2024.
The quick service chain formalized a new Animal Care Standards program – a detailed assessment tool for beef, pork, chicken and eggs – last year. The program is designed to enhance the company’s animal welfare standards and improve supply chain traceability and will launch in 2020.
“Our process for selecting and auditing chicken suppliers looks for carefully formulated nutritional feed, access to clean water, adequate room to grow, professional veterinary care and proper handling. Further, we have eliminated all antibiotics important to human medicine from our chicken supply, which is process verified through the USDA to ensure compliance,” said the company’s 2019 corporate social responsibility (CSR) report.
Wendy’s is also on track to have carbon dioxide stunning implemented in 100% of their Canadian chicken facilities and use only cage-free eggs in the brand’s restaurants by the end of 2020.
Good Done Right
To emphasize a commitment to animal care best practices, the quick service chain recently launched a new corporate banner “Good Done Right.”
"At Wendy's, we believe that doing the right thing is the only way to do business," Todd Penegor, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Wendy's Company, said in the press release. "Being a responsible corporate citizen is a priority for our brand, and Good Done Right is our way to communicate how we're advancing various commitments to make a positive impact in the areas of food, people and our environmental footprint."
The company plans on conducting a third-party materiality assessment to ensure that the CSR-related goals align with stakeholder and business priorities and are focused in areas where meaningful change can be implemented. Based on the results of the assessment, Wendy’s expects to share additional details on future plans, strategy and commitment in the coming months.
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