We strive to promote best practices in animal welfare, aiming, whenever possible, to be above the benchmark. For example, antibiotics are used only for therapeutic purposes, stunning prior to slaughter is compulsory (with the exception of certified religious rituals) and growth hormones are banned.
To this end, we regularly carry out laboratory tests, as well as quality and food safety audits of the slaughterhouses used by the Group in Portugal, Poland and Colombia.
We do not allow animal testing during the development of our Private Brand products and Perishables in any of the countries in which we operate. The only exception is when it comes to animal feed (which involves sensory tests to assess the level of satisfaction of the target audience) and products to control or eliminate parasitic and/or superpopulations species that may be sources of contamination or disease, such as, for example, insects.
Our GMO Policy is built on the principle that our Private Brand products, including Perishables, do not contain any transgenic additives, whether plant- or animal-based.
We are thus committed to:
Biedronka’s Private Brand free-range chickens, sold since 2015, are raised without the use of antibiotics and given non-GMO feed. Besides having ten times more space to grow than conventional chickens, below the average density of 30 kg/m2, they have a minimum slaughter age of 70 days (higher than the market average established at 56 days).
In Portugal, the Pingo Doce free-range chickens are raised outdoors, with a maximum density of 25 kg/m2. With a minimum slaughter age of 81 days, this product is certified by an independent external entity and the respective specifications were approved by the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development.
The Private Brand Duroc serrano ham has animal welfare approved certification of its production and slaughter processes from an independent external entity, while “Porco.pt” certified pork is of national production that follows practices such as a lower animal density than that required by law, and cereal-based feed.
We prohibit transport for over eight hours and the use of tranquilisers on Aberdeen Angus cattle. We also include criteria such as the absence of wounds and signs of thirst or hunger in cow calves.
We are committed to eradicating the sale of Private Brand fresh eggs from caged hens, by 2025.
At Pingo Doce, we achieved this goal in August 2019, with the Private Brand offering only eggs from organic production, free-range chickens or those raised in a barn, that is, “cage-free”. Biedronka sells barn, free-range and organic eggs, while Recheio sells barn eggs under the Amanhecer Private Brand. In January 2020, barn eggs under the MasterChef brand were also introduced.
In 2019, Biedronka extended its commitment to selling cage-free fresh eggs to Supplier Brands.
Created in 2014 to support our Food Distribution operation in Portugal, Jerónimo Martins Agro-Alimentar aims at ensuring direct supply of some strategic products. Today, it operates in three business areas: dairy products (Terra Alegre), Angus beef production and fattening (Best Farmer) and aquaculture (Seaculture).
In 2019, all Aberdeen Angus beef production units and the dairy farm obtained an independent external entity certification for the Responsible Reduction of Drug Use, receiving a score of “100% Excellent”. This certification ensures that antibiotics are only used for therapeutic purposes. These production units also have animal welfare approved certification, from an independent external identity, in accordance with the European “Welfare Quality” protocol.
We also ensure:
