You may buy, or consider buying, higher welfare food products at your local supermarket or grocer. However, when you buy lunch from your local workplace canteen or select a canapé at a charity event, the thought might not cross your mind. Luckily, Compass Group Australia and Foodbuy have thought about it for you and source 100% RSPCA Approved chicken for the fresh chicken used at their sites.
Foodbuy may not be a name that you see in your local supermarket or grocer, but they’re actually the largest food service procurement organisation in Australia. Foodbuy is the sole sourcing partner for their parent company, Compass Group Australia, and together they serve over 90 million meals each year across 700+ locations and industry sectors – from education, defence, hospitals, aged care and business headquarters to iconic venues such as Sydney Town Hall and the National Gallery of Victoria.
Meat chicken farms with the RSPCA Approved certification have to meet the RSPCA’s detailed animal welfare Standard. This means birds live in an enriched barn environment with provisions for both their physical and mental needs. Meat chickens on farms with the RSPCA Approved certification enjoy more space to move, adequate light periods to encourage activity and dark periods for rest, can perch which helps them develop and maintain leg health, and quality dry friable litter so they can dustbathe and forage – ultimately leading to better health and wellbeing. To make sure the Standard is met the farms are assessed 2-4 times per year by specially trained RSPCA Assessors, and abattoirs are also assessed annually as part of the program.
Sourcing certified higher welfare products like this is important for the future of meat chicken farming in Australia as it supports forward thinking farmers who prioritise animal welfare, so thank you Foodbuy and Compass Group Australia.
Find out more about the RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme and our impact here.
Interested to read more? The restaurants and cafes supporting better welfare for meat chickens Or Cracking egg labelling: myth busting egg labels to help you shop
