Tesco announced that it is to stop sourcing eggs from caged hens by 2025. The move comes after the retailer conducted a detailed review of its egg sourcing strategy, which included consultation with suppliers, industry experts and other key stakeholders.

The group said the initiative was designed to ensure Tesco sources products in a sustainable way. Tesco recently launched its Fair For Farmers Guarantee for fresh milk and introduced guaranteed high value contracts for British potato growers, as well as sustainable farming programmes for lamb farmers and producers of cheese.

Working with supplier partners, Tesco will transition to 100% cage-free eggs, moving to alternative sourcing methods, such as barns, free range and organic.
At present, some 43% of the 1.4 billion eggs sold by Tesco each year come from caged eggs, also known as enriched colonies, with the remainder coming from Free Range or Organic methods.

Matt Simister, Tesco’s Commercial Director for Fresh Food said: “Our decision on caged hens is one of a number of Tesco initiatives designed to ensure sustainable sourcing, and improve animal welfare.

“We carried out an extensive and collaborative review with our suppliers and key industry experts to help us work through how best we can move to 100% cage-free eggs. This will ensure we give our supplier partners the certainty they require, to make the significant and necessary investments needed for the new farming systems.”

Veli Moluluo, Managing Director of Noble Foods, Tesco’s largest supplier of eggs, added:
“We have already started investigating new methods of egg production, and the commitment from Tesco to move away from enriched colony production in a manageable timeframe gives us the confidence and ability to invest for the long term”.