We use animal-based ingredients such as milk, eggs and meat across a range of our products. We believe all animals should be treated responsibly and with dignity, and we work with our suppliers to ensure that our high standards of animal welfare are met.
All our animal welfare polices and reports can be viewed here
Our Animal Welfare Policy embraces the Farm Animal Welfare Committee’s stated Six Freedoms, identified to safeguard and improve the welfare of livestock. They are:
- Freedom from hunger and thirst - by ready access to fresh water and diet to maintain health and vigor.
- Freedom from discomfort - by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area.
- Freedom from pain, injury or disease - by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment.
- Freedom to express normal behaviour - by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal's own kind.
- Freedom from fear and distress - by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering.
- Freedom to undergo positive experiences - by providing appropriate conditions to experience positive emotions and encourage natural behaviour.
As a business we ensure the ingredients we buy are sourced to high standards:
- We use various assurance schemes for dairy - Red Tractor (UK), Board Bia (Ireland), Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme, or Origin Green and Organic.
- 100% of our Direct eggs are from cage-free hens
- We have signed up to the Better Chicken Commitment
- 100% of our Direct pork from the UK is assured under Red Tractor standards.
In 2019, we have signed and agreed to the principles and policies of the Food Industry Initiative on Antimicrobials (FIIA). We sit on the Strategic Delivery Board of this body which brings together retailers, manufacturers, processors and foodservice companies, to promote and support responsible antimicrobial use and action on antimicrobial resistance. This means that the farmers we work with stop using antibiotics as a proactive, preventative measure and only use critically important antibiotics, as defined by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as a last resort to safeguard their animals’ welfare where no alternative treatment option is available. For more information, please visit:
Working with our suppliers to achieve our goals
We require all suppliers supplying products of animal origin to complete a set of questions on their approach to the management of animal welfare issues, as well as performance on various criteria. As part of this process, suppliers must confirm that they comply to the Premier Foods Animal Welfare Policy. In addition, we have incorporated animal welfare objectives into the joint business plans of our key suppliers to drive outcomes forward. In the event of non-compliance with the requirements of our animal welfare policy, our team will agree appropriate and time-bound, corrective actions with the supplier. Our supplier audit team will also arrange to visit the supplier's premises to review the process and suggest improvements in order to meet specification / animal welfare policy. If the supplier is then still unable to comply with our policy, we will serve notice and source from an alternative supplier that can meet our requirements.
Moving up to Tier 2 in BBFAW's animal welfare ranking in 2019
Animal welfare is a key business priority for us and we measure our performance against the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW). Now in its eight year and with analysis covering 150 of the largest food companies, BBFAW is the most authoritative and comprehensive global account of the impact of corporate practice on farm animal welfare. Working with BBFAW and Compassion in World Farming, we have improved our performance this year and moved up from Tier 3 to Tier 2, with an overall score of 64 (sector average score is 35). We obtained noticeably stong scores in Management Commitments and Policy (Premier Foods score: 86 versus sector average: 49) and Reporting (Premier Foods score: 63 versus sector score average: 15). We are proud of these results and will continue working to improve our approach to farm animal welfare.