Aldi in packaging storm over similar ‘higher welfare’ M&S branding

Animal-welfare campaigners brand labels ‘deceptive and confusing’ but discount chain hits back

M&S (label on the left) has signed the Better Chicken Commitment; Aldi (label on the right) has not (M&S/Aldi)

Discount supermarket chain Aldi has been accused of misleading customers with chicken packaging similar to that of Marks & Spencer – which has signed up to an official set of welfare standards.

The label on Aldi’s chicken breast fillets proclaims “higher welfare” – but the supermarket has not signed up to the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC), a scheme that avoids practices standard on factory farms, such as rapidly growing breeds and overcrowding.

But Aldi rejects the claim and says its labels have been changed to reflect improved conditions for the chickens it rears.

In industrial farming, chickens put on weight so rapidly that they easily break bones and their weight strains their organs. It’s the equivalent of a human baby growing to weigh 47st in two months, animal-welfare campaigners say.

Chickens are bred to put on weight so rapidly that their limbs cannot cope and they collapse (Open Cages)

But Marks & Spencer and Waitrose have both joined the BCC, giving flocks of birds more space and involving slower growing breeds.

Compassion in World Farming (CiWF) has branded Aldi’s packaging “deceptive and confusing”, saying the claim of higher welfare risks leading shoppers into thinking the standards are the same.

In addition, there are similarities between the label designs: both use block capital letters, have two horizontal lines and use the Union flag.

Tracey Jones, of CiWF, said Aldi was being misleading, adding: “Aldi’s fresh new chicken label falls short of ‘higher welfare’, with consumers fooled into thinking it matches that of Better Chicken Commitment compliant products in M&S.”

However, “higher welfare” is not a trademarked description, nor has it a legal definition.

Birds are crammed into sheds on factory farms (Open Cages)

And Aldi says it has worked for several years to increase the space available to its chickens, and now has a stocking density the same as the BCC’s.

It said its data showed that the change had improved bird welfare, including a significant cut in antibiotic usage.

The supermarket’s website claims: “Our chickens are reared on trusted British farms and now have 20 per cent more space that the industry standard to lead happier and healthier lives. “Aldi Higher Welfare fresh chicken ensures the birds continue to have increased access to environmental enrichment such as straw bales, perches, pecking objects and natural light.”

An Aldi spokesman disputed CiWF’s claim that the labels could mislead customers.

He said: “Animal welfare is of paramount importance to us and we are in active discussions with Compassion in World Farming.

“All Aldi fresh chicken has 20 per cent more space than the industry standard, which is why we have made changes to our packaging.”