What’s ALDI doing about improving animal welfare?

Animal welfare is something we take very seriously at ALDI. This means implementing a number of policies that facilitate best practice animal welfare standards. From carefully selecting suppliers, to offering free-range and organic options and having a strong stance against animal testing, we discuss these policies and the importance of having them in place.

We have strict animal welfare standards 
As part of ALDI’s commitment to animal welfare we only work with fresh meat suppliers that engage superior animal welfare practices.

All ALDI branded fresh meat suppliers (beef, lamb, pork and poultry) are subject to independent audits to ensure they adhere to best-practice animal welfare standards. These standards are developed and reviewed by a committee that includes industry experts, government representatives, animal behavioural and veterinary scientists and animal welfare organisations. This ensures we’re continuously improving and evolving our animal welfare standards.

ALDI’s approach to animal welfare is guided by the globally recognised ‘Five Freedoms’ for farm animals. Developed by the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC), a committee of experts from the UK, these freedoms include:

1. Freedom from hunger and thirst
Animals always have access to fresh water and a healthy diet designed to maintain optimum health.

2. Freedom from discomfort
Animals are kept in comfortable environments with appropriate shelter and a suitable resting area.

3. Freedom from pain, injury or disease
Animal health is a priority with a focus on illness prevention or quick diagnosis and treatment.

4. Freedom to express normal behaviour
Animals are given suitable space and allowed to spend time with other animals.

5. Freedom from fear and distress
All living conditions and treatment are designed to avoid mental suffering.

One example of how we select suppliers based on best practice is our fresh pork products, which are sourced from Australian Pork Industry Quality Assurance (APIQ^®) certified and Gestation Stall Free verified farms. This means that mother pigs are free from the discomfort, pain, hunger and distress of being held in a small gestation stall (or cage) for the duration of their pregnancy.

All of our fresh beef, lamb and pork products are also certified by the Australian Livestock Processing Industry Animal Welfare Certification System (AAWCS). This certification system ensures that ALDI’s fresh meat suppliers are adhering to the best practice Industry Animal Welfare Standards. These standards include ensuring that processing staff are professionally trained in low stress handling techniques, that all facilities and equipment are designed for minimal interference to livestock, and sick or injured animals are treated humanely.
So next time you grocery shop for the family, you can have peace of mind knowing the meat you’re buying was humanely processed and is of the highest quality.

We offer free range and organic choices
Customers who want to make even more welfare-conscious choices are encouraged to check out ALDI’s selection of free range and organic products. These include our Willowton Free Range Chickens, which have access to outdoor pastures and feed on a natural diet of grass, bugs and grains. Accredited to Free Range Egg And Poultry Australia (FREPA) standards, this farming practice is not only good for the quality of life for the chickens, but also translates into a superior quality product. Similarly, our selection of Just Organic dairy products allows customers to support organic dairy farming – which has benefits including better animal welfare standards. Customers can also reap the health benefits of adding organic dairy into their diets at an affordable price.

We’ve committed to phasing out caged eggs 
We love fresh Aussie eggs at ALDI and pride ourselves on providing our customers with a range of quality choices. Our current range includes cage, barn and free range eggs. We believe this empowers you to make egg purchases based on affordability and your own values. All of our eggs must pass ALDI’s rigorous internal quality testing and also comply with best practice industry production standards, including the Egg Standard Australia (ESA) farm accreditation program.

To further our commitment to best practice animal welfare standards, ALDI globally made an informed decision to phase out all cage eggs by 2025. As our egg suppliers range from small family-run businesses to large egg producers, this timescale will allow us to work in partnership with them on a sustainable transition to cage-free eggs while integrating new innovations in best-practice cage-free farming.

Our policies cover all kinds of animal products
Animal welfare shouldn’t only be considered in terms of meat and dairy products. ALDI also has strict policies and standards regarding numerous other products that contain animal materials, such as wool and feathers. These include prohibiting suppliers of merino wool products from farmers who practice mulesing, and banning live plucking methods for products that contain feathers. As you’d expect, we would also never sell any product containing real fur or angora wool as a matter of principle.

We say no to animal testing 
Avoiding products tested on animals is something many shoppers are passionate about. So we’re proud to have worked with our suppliers to prohibit animal testing on all ALDI products. This includes household essentials such as health and beauty products, cleaners and detergents. The next time you pop into ALDI and pick up a Lacura face cream or some Tandil dishwashing liquid, you can feel confident that you are not only purchasing a high quality product at a low price, but also know that it wasn’t tested on animals.