European coffeehouse chain Espresso House has onboarded a new seafood welfare policy that establishes rigorous standards for all fish and crustaceans in the company’s supply chain. The new policy builds on previous commitments the company had made on eggs and poultry, and a new policy commitment just enacted for its pork supply chain.
Espresso House operates over 500 locations across Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Germany.
“Working alongside the procurement department and our suppliers, we’ve been striving to make real changes for animal rights, and we’re proud of what we’ve achieved so far,” Espresso House Group Sustainability Manager Jessica Julin said.
The company’s expanded policy sets strong welfare standards for all fish and crustaceans in its supply chain by 2030. This includes mandating humane mechanical or electrical stunning; requiring aquaculture environments to meet Global Animal Partnership, RSPCA, or Naturland standards for stocking density, enrichments, crowding and handling; requiring daily monitoring of water conditions, disease and mortality; prohibiting mutilations like eyestalk ablation and the use of bait fish; prohibiting wild-catch systems with significant bycatch or animal welfare issues such as bottom gillnets, bottom and conventional trawlers, drift and gillnets, and dredges; and limiting time of capture and time out of water for wild-caught fish.
NGO Lever Foundation has praised the new seafood welfare policy.
“Espresso House’s establishment of comprehensive animal welfare standards for fish and crustaceans in its seafood supply chain, in parallel to the welfare standards it has committed to for chickens, pigs and laying hens, demonstrates the company’s leadership in the restaurant and cafe sector,” said Astrid Duque of the non-profit Lever Foundation, which has worked closely with the company on its new policy over the past two years.
“Espresso House has created a compelling example that we encourage other restaurant and cafe groups to follow in adopting meaningful common-sense welfare improvements for the many aquatic animals in its supply chain.”
