'EggTrack' to keep an eye on retailers' 2025 cage-free commitments

Noble Foods is noteworthy for being the sole producer included in EggTrack this year
Noble Foods is noteworthy for being the sole producer included in EggTrack this year

A new report has been launched to show the progress European companies are making towards meeting their 2025 cage-free egg commitments.

In recent years, a wave of cage-free egg commitments from leading food businesses around the world has promised to transform the future for laying hens.

Numerous retailers and major food businesses have pledged a transition by 2025, including the UK's leading egg producer Noble Foods, Asda, Lidl, Aldi, Tesco, Morrisons and Iceland.

The aim of the European EggTrack report, launched by Compassion in World Farming, is to track those companies that have made the commitment.

The report will encourage them to report year-on-year progress towards their cage-free goals.

And while the 2025 commitment target may still seem a long way away, it equates to only five laying hen flock cycles.

Companies have been urged by the animal welfare charity to start planning their production system changes now, and work closely with suppliers to ensure implementation by the agreed deadline.

EggTrack will not only track data from 83 group level companies, which have been selected for their size and therefore potential impact in the market, but also 132 subsidiary business divisions, with a total of 201 individual commitments being tracked.

Noble Foods is noteworthy for being the sole producer included in EggTrack this year.

The report highlights the progress companies are making across not only shell or whole egg, but also their product and ingredient egg supply chains too.