December 21, 2012
By becoming the first major grocery retailer in the US to make a national commitment to Certified Humane® cage-free eggs, Safeway has furthered its commitment to animal welfare and surpassed its sourcing and sales goals for cage-free eggs.
In 2008, Safeway began an initiative with existing suppliers to have all Lucerne Cage-Free and O Organics shell eggs sourced from farms that are Certified Humane®. In 2010, Safeway announced a goal of increasing sales of cage-free eggs from 6-12% of the shell egg category within two years. Today more than 15% of overall egg sales in the category are cage-free eggs. In addition, the company added the Open Nature label to the Certified Humane® programme this year. Safeway stated it will continue to expand the campaign as their customers respond to the initiative.
"Safeway's commitment has been unique and impressive," said Adele Douglass, Founder and CEO of Humane Farm Animal Care ("HFAC"), a non-profit organisation that developed and administers the Certified Humane® labelling programme for eggs, meat, dairy and poultry products. "Safeway's suppliers had to make the changes necessary to become certified. As a result, Safeway and its suppliers have had a major impact on improving the humane treatment of laying hens in the US. Safeway's leadership is unparalleled within the retail food industry."
Safeway's Quality Assurance team worked with HFAC in this effort because HFAC is widely known for its comprehensive and trustworthy labelling programme, which carries third-party, independent certification for the O Organics and Open Nature Brands.
"We are supporting traditional farming practices and are committed to improving the welfare of farm animals," said John Larsen, Safeway Vice President of Dairy and Refrigerated.
Safeway will continue to work with suppliers to move forward on increasing their production of cage-free eggs and reward farmers who adopt humane practices. It is an industry leader in environmental sustainability, ethical business practices and effective community outreach and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America, based on sales.
