European Convenience Food GmbH (ECF) has joined the European Chicken Commitment (ECC) and will meet its specifications across the entire product range by 2026 at the latest. The company produces convenience products such as burgers and chicken wings under its Karl Kemper brand—exclusively for wholesale customers. As an initial intermediate goal, ECF is already working on the development of new ECC-compliant products, which it plans to launch on the market in 2023. The ECF Group's decision to join the ECC is an important step toward better product availability and could motivate other companies in the catering and food service sectors to follow its example and sign up too. ECF's pledge can be found here.
Wholesaler Hirschburger has also joined the European Chicken Commitment. The Baden-Wuerttemberg-based company provides wholesale customers with items such as dairy products as well as regionally produced meat and sausage. Hirschburger will develop a product range meeting the requirements of the ECC by 2026.
The European Chicken Commitment
In Germany alone, more than 600 million chickens are raised for their meat and killed every year—that is more than 80% of all slaughtered land animals. Most of these animals grow so fast that they can barely stand on their feet. The dismal and cramped environment of the sheds adds to their suffering. To alleviate this, we have joined forces with other European animal protection groups to launch the European Chicken Commitment, which now has 35 members. This commitment primarily requires its signatories to reduce the overbreeding of animals in their supply chains and to provide more space, light and variety in the sheds. Another important requirement is for less stressful stunning before slaughter.