Carrefour Polska's progress towards the European Chicken Commitment in 2024

Carrefour Polska's progress towards the European Chicken Commitment in 2024

  • 27.11.2024
  • Food transition

At Carrefour, the issue of animal welfare has been one of our sustainability priorities for years. As part of our strategy, in May 2021 we became the first retail chain in Poland to join the European Chicken Commitment, a European initiative aimed to improve the welfare of meat chickens. Below are the results for each criterion achieved from 2022 to September 2024.

The ECC requirements, which we have committed to implement by 2026, apply to fresh and frozen chicken meat and processed products containing min. 50% poultry meat sold under Carrefour's private label.

We have been continuously monitoring the progress of our ECC commitment. Below are the results for each criterion achieved from 2022 to September 2024 (criterion implementation for % of volume sold).

Criterion

2022

2023

01 - 09.2024

Slower growing breed approved by ECC

28%

23%

48%

Max. a stocking density of 30kg/m² or less

28%

 

23%

 

48%

At least 50 lux of light, including natural light

28%

 

49%

 

49%

At least two metres of usable perch space per 1,000 birds

28%

 

23%

 

48%

At least two pecking substrates per 1,000 birds

0%

 

26%

 

60%

No cages or multi-tier systems

100%

 

100%

 

99%

Controlled atmospheric stunning using inert gas or multi-phase systems, or effective electrical stunning without live inversion

38%

 

49%

 

87%

Air quality according to Annex 2.3 of the EU broiler directive

100%

 

100%

 

100%

Third-party audits against ECC standards

0%

0%

48%

 

Implementing ECC requirements entails additional investment and costs for suppliers. Due to the difficult, unstable economic situation that has persisted for several years, most suppliers of processed products are unable to set a date for the completion of the ECC guidelines, but by joining the ECC initiative we have committed suppliers to do so before the end of 2026. We encourage our partners to take action to improve chicken welfare as soon as possible or within the resources they currently have, despite economic conditions.

 

At the same time, we would like to proudly emphasize that the fresh meat sold under the Carrefour Quality Line brand “Jakość z Natury” is sourced from farms that meet all of the aforementioned ECC criteria as of June 2024. We would like to thank all Carrefour Quality Line chicken farmers for their commitment to ensuring welfare and following best practices according to ECC guidelines.