Cage-Free Egg Project - Animal Welfare - IQC (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

CASE

Cage-Free Egg Project

Globally, over 2,000 brands have pledged to transition to 100% cage-free egg procurement between 2025 and 2030, with 150 of them operating in China. To aid these brands in meeting their commitments, IQC, in collaboration with associations, certification bodies, and representatives from cage-free farming enterprises, collectively developed the "Cage-Free Egg Production Evaluation Requirements" standard, laying the groundwork for cage-free egg certification.

Additionally, IQC offers on-site consultation and improvement guidance services to farms, facilitating their compliance with certification standards.

Project Contents

On-site assessment: Assess the farm according to standards, identifying gaps between current practices and standard requirements.

Farm renovation: Develop customized farm renovation plans based on the current state, ensuring compliance with standards while considering costs and operational efficiency.

Standard training: Offer standard and technical training for farm managers and animal caretakers.

Product promotion: Organize the annual "Quality and Welfare Egg Conference" inviting key purchasers and producers to facilitate farm and potential customer connections for production and sales.

Project Achievements

In 2023, a total of 15 enterprises obtained cage-free egg certification. The certified farms are distributed across 11 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in East China, Central China, North China, Northwest China, Southwest China, and South China. Several farms in the Northeast region are also in the process of certification.

In 2023, the certified cage-free birds exceeded 450,000, with an annual egg production of approximately 150 million pieces. Certified cage-free eggs have been introduced into star-rated hotels (such as Marriott, Hilton, InterContinental, Hyatt), retail superstores (Disney, Costco, RT-Mart, CR Vanguard, Beijing Hualian, Sanjiang Shopping, Ito-Yokado), and new retail systems (Meituan, JD Daojia, Benlai). The markets in Hong Kong and Macau also show strong growth momentum.