Sodexo will offer products from RSPCA Freedom Food approved farms at nearly 1,000 of its UK sites. Eggs, salmon, chicken and pork are now offered by the foodservice and facilities management firm at contracts within education, healthcare and the public sector.
As a registered Freedom Food supplier, Sodexo can give its clients and their customers the option of eating food with higher animal welfare credentials.
Michelle Hanson, commercial director for Sodexo UK & Ireland, said: "Farm animal welfare is very important to us at Sodexo and we are proud to have added products from Freedom Food approved farms to our procurement portfolio."
Freedom Food is the RSPCA's farm assurance and food labelling scheme, which covers every aspect of a farm animal's life. Farms are inspected against RSPCA welfare standards, but checks are also made to ensure animals are handled, transported and slaughtered to the RSPCA's standards too.
Leigh Grant, chief executive of Freedom Food, said: "Demand for Freedom Food products has risen dramatically in supermarkets over the past few years, and we know people are also becoming more concerned about the provenance of their food when eating out. So we are delighted that Sodexo is now a supplier of Freedom Food products, which means more people will have a greater choice of higher welfare food and more animals will be reared to the RSPCA's higher welfare standards."
Find out more about what caterers can do to support higher standards of animal welfare.
Food Legacy: The campaign, launched October 2011, is inspired by the London 2012 Food Vision adopted by the organisers of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Food Legacy asks caterers, restaurants, event organisers and hospitality organisations to commit publicly to taking steps to improve the healthiness, ethics and sustainability of the food they serve.
