Tesco is to expand its commitment to sell eggs from hens that are not kept in cages to include the eggs used as ingredients in its own products.
The UK’s largest retailer will switch all of its egg ingredients over by 2025, in line with its policy on shell eggs.
Tesco’s two biggest egg suppliers Noble Foods and Glenrath have invested heavily in transforming its colony cage units to aviary barn units in order to meet the commitment on shell egg it made in 2016.
John Kirkpatrick, Tesco’s agricultural manager for poultry, eggs and feed, said the decision had been made in consultation with its suppliers. “With the support of many of our supply partners we have been working to understand how we move our current egg ingredient pool to cage free product by 2025,” he wrote in an email to suppliers and colleagues. “I am pleased to inform you that this piece of work has now reached its conclusion, has been signed off by the business and we will be committing to Cage Free Ingredient by 2025.”
Read PB’s interview with John Kirkpatrick from earlier this year, in which he discusses the transition to cage-free, plus the Better Chicken Commitment https://www.poultrynews.co.uk/business-politics/business/tescos-john-kirkpatrick-interview-putting-the-customer-first.html