Animal welfare

Animal welfare is an important part of being a responsible business and we are committed to the continuous improvement of animal welfare in our food and non-food products.

Every year we are ranked within the global Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW). In 2021 BBFAW assessed over 150 global food companies on their approach to animal welfare and Aldi was ranked in Tier 3. Aldi GB has our own animal welfare requirements which form part of the contractual agreement between Aldi and our suppliers. We also monitor animal welfare within our supply chains and review outcomes on a regular basis with our suppliers.

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  • We have a commitment to be 100% cage-free across all of our shell eggs and egg ingredients in products by 2025. Because of this commitment we were awarded the ‘Good Egg Award’ from Compassion in World Farming in 2020.
  • All our everyday range of fresh meat, eggs and milk is 100% British and has been independently certified to meet the Red Tractor Assurance standard. These products meet British standards for food safety, hygiene, animal welfare & environmental protection.
  • We stock a wide range of RSPCA Assured products within our stores and have one of the fastest growing ranges of RSPCA Assured products of any UK supermarket.
  • Aldi is committed to the sustainability of the world’s oceans and environment by ensuring that all of the fish and seafood used in our own-label products are responsibly sourced.

Chicken Welfare

Aldi is committed to maintaining the welfare of chicken in our supply chain. All of Aldi’s fresh, primary chicken:

  • Is raised at a lower stocking density to allow more space to roam (30kg per square metre which is lower than the Red Tractor industry standard of 38kg, providing chickens with 20% more space)
  • Has access to at least two metres of perch space, manipulable material and pecking objects, to allow for natural behaviours including perching, dustbathing and pecking (in line with Red Tractor)
  • Is provided with natural lighting so that windows equate to a minimum of 3% of the floor area (in line with Red Tractor) 
  • Is pre-stunned prior to slaughter using controlled atmospheric stunning with an inert gas (CO2) - electric stunning is only used as an emergency backup

Cage-Free Eggs

Aldi have a commitment to be 100% cage-free across our own-brand shell eggs and egg ingredients in products by the end of 2025. Progress towards those goals is detailed below:

Shell Eggs:

100% Free Range (as of October 2024)

Egg Ingredients:

69% Cage Free (July 2023 - June 2024, by number of lines)


Responsible use of antimicrobials


Antibiotics are used to treat, control and prevent disease in farm animals.  Aldi believes that antibiotic use in animal medicine, when applied responsibly, promotes good animal welfare. We therefore support the need to protect antimicrobial medicines and reduce the threat of antibiotic resistance to human health.


That’s why Aldi is a sponsor of the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance (RUMA), a collective of interested parties across the food supply chain. We are also part of the Food Industry Initiative on Antimicrobials which has the stated vision of ‘Retailers, manufacturers, processors and food service companies coming together to promote and support responsible antimicrobial use and action on antimicrobial resistance’.


We believe that the use of antibiotics in animal farming should be prescribed by qualified veterinarians and with a view to good animal welfare and long-term sustainability. We do not support the prophylactic use of antibiotics in animal farming, or their use as growth promoters.


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Non-food products

Aldi also takes animal welfare seriously when it comes to our non-food products. Find out more about our Non-Food Animal Welfare policies here.