Aldi goes cage-free ahead of schedule

Aldi UK & Ireland and rival discounter Lidl UK both received a ‘Good Egg Award’ from Compassion in World Farming in 2020 for their commitments to be 100% cage-free by 2025.

Now, Britain’s fourth-largest supermarket has announced all its UK stores now only sell cage-free eggs. Kantar data also revealed Aldi sells more British free-range eggs than any other UK supermarket.

Julie Ashfield, managing director of buying at Aldi, said: “Improving animal welfare is incredibly important to us at Aldi and by working with our suppliers we have been able to hit our 100% cage-free target more than a year early.​

British heart

“Our British suppliers are at the heart of our business and without them Aldi wouldn’t be where it is today and we are proud to work with so many UK egg farmers.”   ​

News of Aldi’s commitment to cage-free eggs followed the announcement that it planned to invest £3bn into British beef suppliers over the next five years as part of its ongoing commitment to championing the quality of British food.

Part of this investment included a five-year contract with supply partner Kepak, providing a £260 million investment into their line of Aberdeen Angus beef.

Long-term relationships

Commenting on the supermarket’s beef investment, Ashfield said: “As the UK’s largest British beef retailer, we’re proud of our long-term relationships with British farmers across the country.​

“The UK farming community plays a vital role in our food supply chains – our continued investment in British beef is in recognition of this and means we can continue to provide the best quality British products for our customers.”​

Meanwhile, in June, The British Egg Industry Council launched an updated code of practice for the production of British Lion-certified egg products.​​