HelloFresh signs European Chicken Commitment

Berlin, May 2020 - HelloFresh, the world’s leading meal kit provider, has been committed to changing the way people eat since its beginnings in 2011. The company's mission of re-inventing the food supply chain has made delicious home cooking easy and accessible for people around the world, and created significant reductions in food waste from farm to fork. HelloFresh applies consistent quality standards on behalf of its customers so they can focus on enjoying the home cooking experience worry free.

HelloFresh has always sought to deliver high-quality, locally sourced proteins to customers.  In keeping with its mission “to change the way people eat, forever,“ HelloFresh believes in responsible sourcing practices including the welfare of the animals in its protein sources.  Working in partnership with its supply base, HelloFresh strives to continuously improve the overall sustainability of its products. As HelloFresh grows, so does its ability to support broad-based efforts across the broiler chicken industry to improve animal welfare standards. 

HelloFresh is happy to announce its partnership with Compassion in World Farming alongside many leading food companies across Europe in its pledge to the European Chicken Commitment ( ECC). This commitment endeavors to bring about some of most extensive improvements to chicken welfare at scale and through this collective effort, the ECC seeks to achieve the following improvements in broiler chicken welfare

By 2026, we will require our suppliers to meet the following requirements for 100% of the [fresh, frozen, and processed] chicken in our supply chain:

• Comply with all EU animal welfare laws and regulations, regardless of the country of production.
• Implement a maximum stocking density of 30kg/m² or less. Thinning is discouraged and if practiced must be limited to one thin per flock.
• Adopt breeds that demonstrate higher welfare outcomes.
• Meet improved environmental standards including:
  • At least 50 lux of light, including natural light.
  • At least two metres of usable perch space, and two pecking substrates, per 1,000 birds.
  • On air quality, the maximum requirements of Annex 2.3 of the EU broiler directive, regardless of stocking density.
  • No cages or multi-tier systems.
• Adopt controlled atmospheric stunning using inert gas or multi-phase systems, or effective electrical stunning without live inversion.
• Demonstrate compliance with the above standards via third-party auditing and annual public reporting on progress towards this commitment.

In preparation for this pledge, HelloFresh has spent the last year assessing its chicken supply chains across its nine European markets in an effort to benchmark current standards to the ECC. This analysis will serve as a baseline in drafting its roadmap to the 2026 commitments.  Upon completion, the ECC roadmap will be an integral component of HelloFresh’s larger vision for its global animal welfare policy and will be aligned to its ambitious sustainability targets.  In the coming year HelloFresh will explore with suppliers the current availability of higher welfare products, their plans for welfare enrichments, and assess mid to long term goals across its supplier base to achieve the 6 tenets of the ECC by 2026.  HelloFresh also looks forward to further collaboration and participation in Compassions efforts to organize industry working groups aimed at pushing the entire industry for higher standards, facilitating the successful implementation and driving change across the board.