ALDI has said it will “only ever sell fresh chicken and beef from British farmers” and ruled out the sale of chlorinated chicken or hormone-treated beef.
The retailer’s fresh poultrymeat and beef offering is already 100% British, and it confirmed in a statement “that will never change”.
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It added that 100% of the core range, which includes fresh meat, milk and eggs would always come from British farmers.
Last month, Waitrose made a similar commitment, saying it would be wrong to hold domestic farmers to higher standards and then import food from overseas that does not match those standards.
The ban on chlorinated chicken remains in place despite the UK leaving Europe, so even if a trade deal was secured, its import would not automatically be permitted.
Other retailers have said they are committed to British sourcing, without explicitly ruling out chlorinated chicken.
Chlorinated chicken
Giles Hurley, CEO of Aldi, said: “Aldi is one of the biggest supporters of British suppliers and we want to make it clear that will always be the case.
“We are a signatory to the NFU Back British Farming Charter and our entire core range of fresh meat and milk is from Red Tractor-approved farms in the UK.
“We will never compromise on the standards or specifications of our products, and that includes a commitment to never selling chlorinated chicken or hormone injected beef.
“Britain has some of the highest food quality standards in the world, and our commitment to only source chicken and beef from this country means our customers know they are always buying high quality Aldi products at unbeatable value.”
