MetroMart, the country’s largest e-commerce grocery delivery platform, won praise today from U.S.-based global NGO Lever Foundation for its new commitment to source and sell only cage-free eggs nationwide by 2025.
“MetroMart is committed to social responsibility and benefiting the community, including through selling high quality, safe and humane food products,” said Evreem Fortich, Chief Operating Officer at MetroMart and ambassador of the company on the issue. “We’re pleased to share our new policy of selling only cage-free eggs to consumers on our platform by 2025, and we look forward to working closely with our partners to achieve that goal.”
MetroMart’s e-commerce platform connects consumers with local supermarkets and retailers including The Marketplace, Marks & Spencer, Landmark and All Day Supermarket. The company delivers throughout the Manila and Cebu regions, with plans to expand nationally. MetroMart has been actively promoting sustainability initiatives by using banners on its platform to raise public awareness of environmental issues, and offering promotional discounts for ethical and sustainable products.
Numerous studies have found cage-free eggs are safer and have more vitamins and minerals and a better nutritional profile than caged eggs. Research by the European Food Safety Authority and others has found that cage-free egg farms are up to 25 times less likely to be contaminated with key strains of salmonella compared to hens raised in cages. Hens raised in cage-free systems enjoy better bone health, are free to move and express their natural behavior such as foraging, dust-bathing, flying and nesting.
“We applaud MetroMart for its commitment on this important issue, which will benefit the company’s customers by increasing food safety and quality while also improving the welfare of animals in its supply chain,” said Robyn del Rosario, Sustainability Program Manager at Lever Foundation, which worked with MetroMart on its pledge. “With e-commerce leaders like MetroMart rising in popularity and importance during the pandemic, the company’s commitment to socially responsible policies that benefit the community sets a stellar example for other retailers and food brands.”
Leading animal protection and food safety organizations around the world encourage a switch to cage-free eggs, which are less cruel to animals and safer for consumers. On caged egg farms, each egg-laying hen is confined for nearly her entire life in a cage so small she can barely turn around. Battery cage egg production has been banned throughout the European Union as well as in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Canada, India, and parts of the United States.
In recent years a growing list of restaurant, hospitality, retail and packaged foods brands have pledged to use only cage-free eggs in the Philippines, including KFC, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Marriott, Nestle, Unilever, and many others. MetroMart is the first retailer in the Philippines and the first online grocery delivery platform in Asia to make the same pledge.
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