DENVER – Quiznos has announced its commitment toward pursuing higher animal welfare standards from its chicken suppliers. The quick-service chain has committed to ensuring that by 2024 all of its chicken supply will be raised using Global Animal Partnership (GAP) standards.
GAP has developed a “5?Step Animal Welfare Rating” program that assesses the level of welfare of animals on?farm and during transport. The multi?tiered program promotes continuous improvement in animal handling. Each set standards must meet specific requirements before certification to that particular step level is assigned
According to GAP:
• In Step 1: Chickens live in a permanent housing structure and are provided the space to express natural behavior.
• In Step 2: Chickens live in an enriched indoor environment.
• In Step 3: Chickens have seasonal access to the outdoors with provisions that encourage ranging and foraging.
• In Step 4: Chickens live continuously in an enhanced outdoor environment during daylight hours, with access to housing; when they may be at?risk outdoors due to climatic conditions, the chickens have continuous access to a covered outdoor area with foraging material and natural light.
• In Step 5: Chickens live continuously outdoors in an enhanced environment during daylight hours and may only be housed during extreme weather conditions.
• In Step 5+: Chickens spend their lives from placement on a single farm.
According to the company, “Quiznos is committed to ensuring that by 2024, 100 percent of their chicken supply will be GAP certified and processed in a manner,” which includes controlled atmosphere stunning technology before the animals are shackled.
Quiznos CEO Susan Lintonsmith added, “Quiznos has long worked with animal protection organizations like The Humane Society of the United States to address the important matter of animal welfare in our supply chain. We’re committed to providing guests great tasting food made from high quality ingredients, and we strive to adopt best practices in animal welfare initiatives.”
In 2016, the company announced plans to move toward using exclusively cage-free eggs by 2025.
