Bakkavor Group, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of fresh prepared food, has committed to using only cage-free eggs in its products globally. The company operates 23 factories in the UK and specialises in fresh prepared foods such as ready meals, salads, desserts, pizzas and sandwiches, which are sold as own label products to retailers.
“As a Group, we are committed to working towards 100% cage-free eggs by 2027, and in the UK, our largest market, we are working with our UK customers towards 100% cage-free eggs by 2025,” Bakkavor announced in an updated policy.
Bakkavor’s commitment means many own-brand fresh prepared foods at UK retailers including Tesco, Morrisons, Co-op, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Asda.
Animal welfare organisation the Lever Foundation welcomed the move. “We applaud Bakkavor’s new global cage-free egg policy, which will spare tens if not hundreds of thousands of laying hens in China, the US and the UK each year from intensive cage confinement while also boosting food safety for customers,” said Kirsty Tuxford of Lever Foundation, which worked with Bakkavor on its cage-free commitment.
Bakkavor joins a growing number of food businesses that have made commitments to source only cage-free eggs across their global supply chains, including packaged food manufacturers such as Unilever, Danone, Nestle, Kraft and Mondelez, retailers such as Tesco, Costco, METRO and Aldi, and food service companies such as Aramark, Compass Group and Sodexo.