Waitrose is elevating its animal welfare standards across the Italian pork supply chain, aiming for confinement-free operations by 2025.
- British charcuterie is renowned for its high welfare standards, and Waitrose is extending this commitment to its European suppliers.
- Jake Pickering, Senior Agriculture Manager at Waitrose, highlights a detailed strategy backed by Compassion In World Farming to achieve these goals.
- The ‘no compromise’ campaign reinforces Waitrose’s leadership in animal welfare, ensuring quality across its diverse product range.
- The initiative aims to extend the same high-quality welfare standards of British produce to Waitrose’s European-sourced products.
Waitrose is taking significant steps to improve animal welfare standards in its Italian pork supply chain, working towards making it completely ‘confinement free’ by 2025. This move aligns with Waitrose’s established reputation for high welfare standards in its UK operations, where all pigs are bred outdoors and no confinement stalls are used.
Much of Waitrose’s charcuterie comes from Europe, particularly those with protected designation of origin, and the retailer is keen on bringing these European supplier standards in line with those of its British supply base.
Jake Pickering, the Senior Agriculture Manager at Waitrose, expressed the company’s commitment to achieving a ‘confinement free’ supply chain, emphasising a strategic plan supported by Compassion In World Farming. According to Pickering, “We’re very close to announcing that we’ll be confinement free within our Italian supply chain.”
Pickering also noted that the initiative is part of Waitrose’s broader ‘no compromise’ animal welfare campaign, which underscores the supermarket’s dedication to maintaining consistent welfare values across all its products. “The meat and dairy used in our primal offering is also the same as in our ready meals, our pies and pizzas. When we say no compromise, we really do mean that,” he added.
The campaign seeks to convey the message that Waitrose’s commitment to animal welfare extends beyond its British operations, aiming to elevate standards internationally with a targeted deadline.
Waitrose’s initiative to enhance welfare standards in its Italian pork supply chain reflects its unwavering commitment to animal welfare excellence.
