Foodservice distributor Bidfood Australia will be eliminating cage eggs from its supply chain by 2025. The company provides 115 million eggs to the foodservice industry each year, including restaurants, cages, hospitals, hotels and schools.
Bidfood will start by removing cage eggs from its own brand range by 2023, where it will closely with suppliers and customers over the coming years to reach the 100 per cent cage free eggs target by 2025, said CEO Rachel Ruggerio.
“While many consumers choose to buy cage free eggs at supermarkets, it is important that they are also able to have confidence that the eggs being served when they dine out are also cage free.”
“Bidfood is the first major Australian foodservice distributer to make a commitment to go cage free and we now call upon other foodservice distributors, which are continuing to supply cage eggs, to follow Bidfood’s leadership.”
Animals Australia CEO Glenys Oojes had applauded Bidfood’s commitment and targe to cage free eggs.
“Animals Australia has been working closely with Bidfood over the past year to reach this outcome,” said Oojes.
“With around 60 per cent of eggs produced in Australia being used in the foodservice sector, Bidfood’s commitment is a huge positive for animal welfare.”
In July, bakery supplier Allied Pinnacle also announced it would eliminate cage eggs from its supply chain by 2023. It uses more than 40 million eggs every year and will spare 130,000 hens from battery cages by the end of the phase out period.
Increase of trust
The CSIRO reported in November that trust in the egg farming has increased by four percent from 2018, with 57 per cent of Australians expressing trust in the industry.
The report found 93 per cent of Australians cared for the welfare of hens, as well as a “substantial increase in the number of Australians who felt that egg farming has a lower impact on the environment than other industries (76 per cent compared to 66 per cent last year) and those who believe that egg farming is a good use of land (77 per cent compared to 73 per cent last year)”.
The survey is now in its second year and is a three-year research project aimed at “enhancing livelihoods, improving community and animal wellbeing, reducing environmental impact and ensuring the economic sustainability of the egg industry”.
