NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blue Apron (NYSE:APRN) today publicly shared the results of its efforts to date to improve the welfare of animals raised throughout its supply chain and announced a set of additional goals to drive further progress in its animal welfare work.
Blue Apron’s animal welfare standards were recognized yesterday at the 2018 Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards hosted by Compassion in World Farming, an international farm animal welfare organization and leading expert in farm animal welfare. At the organization’s annual awards ceremony in Paris, Blue Apron became one of the first U.S. companies awarded the prestigious Good Chicken Award, in recognition of the company’s commitment to using higher welfare chicken in its supply chain.
“We believe that a critical component of any successful food company is the responsibility––to our customers, suppliers, and the industry at large––to ensure the health and well-being of animals raised throughout our supply chain,” said Tim Smith, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Consumer Products at Blue Apron. “We are honored to receive Compassion in World Farming’s Good Chicken Award in recognition of the accomplishments we have made in our broiler chicken supply, and are proud to share our comprehensive animal welfare standards and future sourcing commitments with the public.”
Compassion in World Farming supports Blue Apron in its animal welfare work and will continue to work alongside the company as it drives further improvements. “Compassion in World Farming is proud to be working with Blue Apron to drive meaningful, positive change in the welfare of farmed animals,” said Leah Garces, Executive Director of Compassion in World Farming. “Blue Apron’s pledge demonstrates its genuine commitment to improving the lives of animals raised throughout its supply chain, most notably broiler chickens, and to report openly on its progress.”
The following is an outline of Blue Apron’s current progress across its supply chain to date for laying hens (eggs), pigs (pork), cattle (beef), and poultry (broiler chickens), as well as its policy on the use of antibiotics and growth promoters:
Laying Hens (Eggs)
100% of Blue Apron’s fresh eggs come
from pasture-raised laying hens. By comparison, less than 1% of the eggs
sold in the U.S. today are pasture-raised.*
Pigs (Pork)
100% of Blue Apron’s pork comes from pigs
raised in group sow housing systems or in systems that do not use
gestation crates. It is estimated that less than a quarter of sows
raised in the U.S. today are raised in group housing systems or in
systems that don’t make use of gestation crates.**
Cattle (Beef)
40% of Blue Apron’s beef comes from grass-fed
cattle that were raised entirely on pasture. By comparison, less than 6%
of the beef sold in the U.S. today is grass-fed and pasture-raised.*
Poultry (Broiler Chickens)
Over 10% of Blue Apron’s broiler
chicken supply is pasture-raised*** by a Global Animal Partnership (GAP)
Step 4-certified producer utilizing higher welfare breeds. Blue Apron’s
remaining broiler chicken supply is raised in enhanced welfare indoor
systems with 100% vegetarian feed and without the use of antibiotics
ever. Today, less than 1% of chicken sold in the U.S. is
pasture-raised,* and an even smaller percentage is both pasture-raised
and GAP Step 4-certified.
Antibiotics
None of the animals in Blue Apron’s supply
chain are ever given subtherapeutic antibiotics. Additionally, Blue
Apron requires that all of its meat, poultry and egg suppliers promptly
treat animals in the event that they become sick and their welfare
requires it.
Growth Promoters
None of the animals in Blue Apron’s supply
chain are ever given growth promoters, such as added hormones****,
subtherapeutic antibiotics, or beta-agonists.
“We are proud of how far we have come in our efforts to implement positive change within the food system," said Smith. "The ethical and humane treatment of animals raised for food has been a top priority of Blue Apron and we are encouraged by our achievements to date across our supply chain."
In addition to maintaining its current progress, Blue Apron has pledged to work with its suppliers to further improve the welfare of animals raised throughout its supply chain. Below are some of the goals that Blue Apron has set as part of its policy and intends to achieve in the coming years.
Pigs (Pork)
100% of Blue Apron’s pork supply today comes
from pigs raised in group sow housing systems or in systems that do not
use gestation crates. By the end of 2019, Blue Apron is committed to
ensuring that 100% of Blue Apron’s pork supply will be Certified Humane
or GAP Step 1-certified.
Cattle (Beef)
As mentioned above, 40% of Blue Apron’s beef
supply today comes from grass-fed cattle that were raised entirely on
pasture. By the end of 2019, Blue Apron is committed to ensuring that
50% or more of its beef supply comes from grass-fed cattle raised
entirely on pasture.
Poultry (Broiler Chickens)
Blue Apron is working toward
100% of its broiler chicken supply meeting the following standards by
the end of 2023:
- Transition to strains of birds that demonstrate higher welfare outcomes that meet the criteria of the RSPCA Broiler Breed Welfare Assessment Protocol or GAP.
- Reduce stocking density to a maximum of 6 lbs./sq. ft. and provide birds enriched environments that, at a minimum, meet GAP Step 4 standards on litter, lighting, and enrichment.
- Process broiler chickens in a manner that avoids pre-stun handling and instead utilizes a multi-step controlled atmosphere processing system that induces an irreversible stun.
- Demonstrate compliance with the above standards via third party auditing.
Currently, more than 10% of Blue Apron's broiler chicken supply today meets or exceeds these standards, with the exception of the controlled atmosphere processing system requirement.
All Meat and Poultry
In addition, by the end of 2019, Blue
Apron is committed to ensuring that 100% of Blue Apron’s beef, pork and
broiler chicken supply will come from sources that meet GAP Step 1,
Certified Humane, or higher standards.
To view the Blue Apron Animal Welfare Policy in its entirety, see here: https://blog.blueapron.com/blue-aprons-animal-welfare-policy/.
* Based on Nielsen sales data for time period from 6/2/2017 to 6/2/2018
**
Estimate according to The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC)
***
Blue Apron defines pasture-raised for broiler chickens as animals raised
with access to pasture during the day, provided such access does not
negatively impact their welfare, such as in the event of extreme weather
conditions.
**** Federal law prohibits the use of added hormones in
poultry and pork.
About Blue Apron
Blue Apron’s mission is to make incredible home cooking accessible to everyone. Launched in 2012, Blue Apron is reimagining the way that food is produced, distributed, and consumed, and as a result, building a better food system that benefits consumers, food producers, and the planet. The company has developed an integrated ecosystem that enables the company to work in a direct, coordinated manner with farmers and artisans to deliver high-quality products to customers nationwide at compelling values.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes statements concerning Blue Apron Holdings, Inc. and its future expectations, plans and prospects that constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “target,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” or “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. Blue Apron has based these forward looking statements largely on its current expectations and projections about future events and trends that it believes may affect its business, financial condition and results of operations. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions including, without limitation, risks related to its announced management and organizational changes, the continued service and availability of key personnel, its ability to expand its product assortments by offering additional products for additional consumer segments, the Company’s anticipated growth strategies, anticipated trends and challenges in its business, and its expectations regarding, and the stability of, its supply chain, and the risks more fully described in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on May 5, 2018 and other filings that Blue Apron may make with the SEC in the future. Blue Apron assumes no obligation to update any forward looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
