Privathof Fulfills Chicken Commitment Criteria

Press release

Broiler chicken — © David Tadevosian – Shutterstock

After dialogs with the Albert Schweitzer Foundation, the PHW Group has joined the European Chicken Commitment with its »Privathof« concept, its brand for more animal welfare. The chicken meat from Privathof already fulfills the criteria of the commitment. The producer is thus contributing to a sustainable improvement of animal welfare standards for chickens raised for meat.

It is the goal of the European Chicken Commitment to comprehensively raise the minimum animal welfare standards for chickens raised for meat. Producers such as the PHW Group are key players because they ensure that other companies that have joined the commitment can obtain chicken meat that fulfills the criteria. For this reason, Mahi Klosterhalfen, CEO and president of the Albert Schweitzer Foundation, is especially pleased with this addition: »To raise the standards comprehensively, we need everyone to work together: It is an important step that Privathof now fulfills all criteria of the European Chicken Commitment because more and more companies are asking us for ways to concretely implement the commitment. Privathof now offers them a possibility to do so.«

The demand for products from Privathof is currently growing vastly. »The willingness of food retailers and wholesalers to further increase the share of chicken meat coming from higher animal welfare standards has given our Privathof concept a big boost«, says Peter Wesjohann, CEO of the PHW Group. »This also validates all of our effort, faith, and patience we have put in this concept, whose time has now come. The decisive key is, as before, the readiness of consumers and restaurateurs to buy these products.«

Farmers that are part of the Privathof concept have to fulfill stricter criteria than the minimum standards in Germany intend. This includes using breeds that do not grow as fast as conventional ones. Furthermore, the chickens generally have more space and light as well as manipulable materials and space to retreat to inside the sheds. For stunning procedures prior to slaughter, the Chicken Commitment does not permit hanging chickens upside down, which causes stress and frequent bone fractures, and often does not stun the animals sufficiently.

The European Chicken Commitment

The European Chicken Commitment was drafted by the Albert Schweitzer Foundation and other European animal protection groups to diminish the greatest sources of suffering in chicken farming. Worldwide, more than 540 companies have agreed to raising their animal welfare standards in accordance with the requirements of the European Chicken Commitment. Among them are groups like Nestlé and Unilever, top caterers like Sodexo, producers such as Rügenwalder Mühle, food retailers such as Aldi, and restaurant chains like Kentucky Fried Chicken.

The European Chicken Commitment

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