Supermarket Aldi has said it will never sell chlorinated chicken or hormone fed beef, regardless of any future trade deals.
Giles Hurley, CEO of Aldi, said: "Aldi is one of the biggest supporters of British suppliers and we want to make it clear that will always be the case. We are a signatory to the ‘National Farmers' Union's Back British Farming Charter’ and our entire core range of fresh meat and milk is from Red Tractor-approved farms in the UK. We will never compromise on the standards or specifications of our products, and that includes a commitment to never selling chlorinated chicken or hormone-injected beef.
“Britain has some of the highest food quality standards in the world, and our commitment to only source chicken and beef from this country means our customers know they are always buying high-quality Aldi products at unbeatable value.”
“Association members warmly welcome Aldi’s pledge to never sell chlorinated chicken or hormone-injected beef, as will consumers. We now urge all other retailers in the UK to take note and do likewise.”
The RSPCA has since welcomed Aldi’s announcement, with chief executive Chris Sherwood adding: “It is great to see retailers like Aldi and Waitrose speaking out against lower welfare imports - it shows that shoppers of all incomes have no appetite for lower welfare imports.
“We would welcome other retailers making the same commitment - however more importantly we want to see the Government take action now to enshrine in law the Government’s manifesto commitment that they would not accept imports of food products produced to lower welfare standards.
“The House of Lords is debating this issue this week - it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to safeguard and improve farm animal welfare now and for the future.
“We should export higher welfare standards not import barren battery cage eggs, pork from pigs kept in sow stalls, hormone fed beef or chlorinated chicken which will undercut British farming standards and start a race to the bottom in animal welfare standards.”
Executive manager of the Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers (SAMW), Martin Morgan, said: “Association members warmly welcome Aldi’s pledge to never sell chlorinated chicken or hormone-injected beef, as will consumers. We now urge all other retailers in the UK to take note and do likewise.”
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
