Noble Foods is a British poultry company. As of 2016, it was the UK's largest egg producer.[1]

Noble Foods Ltd
IndustryPoultry
Headquarters
Lincolnshire
Websitenoblefoods.co.uk

The company was founded in 2006 through the merger of Deans Foods and Stonegate. The company subsequently had to divest itself of its Stonegate business after the Competition Commission found that it violated UK antitrust laws.[2]

In 2017 and 2018 The Humane League petitioned Noble Foods over its farming practices, which used caged hens for its Big & Fresh brand,[3][4] and Animal Equality released footage of treatment of hens in Noble Foods' supply chain.[5] Soon after, in March 2018, Noble Foods announced a pledge to go completely cage-free by 2025.[5] Since 2019, they have achieved top tier ranking in the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare.[6]

References edit

  1. ^ "Gangmasters agree to pay more than £1m to settle modern slavery claim". The Guardian. 20 December 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  2. ^ "Noble Foods considering options including flotation or partial sale". Belfast Telegraph. 22 January 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Free-range firm Noble Foods keeps 4.3m caged hens". The Times. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Animal Rights Group Protest". PR Week. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  5. ^ a b Su-San Sit (29 March 2018). "Noble Foods pledges to go cage-free by 2025". Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Noble Foods, Waitrose and Cranswick top welfare rankings". The Grocer. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2020.