Results from the sixth edition of the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare highlight the Company’s commitment to ongoing advances in related policies
Sao Paulo, February 23, 2018 – JBS employs an ongoing food quality and safety process across all phases of its production chain, all of which begins with animal care. The results of these initiatives are reflected in the sixth edition of the The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW), a global, annual report on best animal well-being practices produced by two international NGOs: World Animal Protection (WAP) and Compassion in World Farming (CIWF).
As well as Coller Capital, a global private equity fund. JBS has been ranked one of the world’s best companies in Animal Well-Being practices and increased last year’s score by 25%, which helped it rise from tier 3 to tier 2.
“Best practices in Animal Well-Being are one of the pillars of our success. JBS takes a very rigorous approach to this issue and continues to invest to improve our activities and policies, which comply with best market practices. As such, we are proud that the BBFAW has recognized the work we have been doing over the past several years, which has transformed JBS into a food industry leader and underlines the Company’s ongoing advances in Animal Welfare”, says Marcio Nappo, JBS Sustainability Director.
JBS employs Animal Welfare procedures that comply with national and international standards at all its units, based on the five fundamental animal freedoms (no hunger or thirst; no discomfort; no pain, injuries or diseases; the ability to express their natural behavior; freedom from fear or stress). JBS has specialist teams to manage this issue working with each type of protein (poultry, pork and beef), using techniques that are constantly being improved based on best market practices.
The Company also has strict animal well-being standards for animal handling and transportation. For example, JBS has a fleet of vehicles specially developed for cattle transportation – the only fleet in Brazil with an elevator to embark and disembark animals more safely, rather than the ramps traditionally used to access trucks. There are currently 172 trucks in the special Animal Welfare fleet for cattle (set to rise to 193 by the end of 2018). JBS is also one of the only companies in the country that uses cameras in corrals to monitor Animal Welfare indicators at all 36 of its cattle units.
The Company constantly invests in training for cattle farmers and their staff and has a technical partnership with some of the world’s foremost experts in this area, including Dr. Temple Grandin. All JBS and third-party drivers also receive Animal Welfare training and certification and they are also required to sign up to the company policy.
“Sustainability management at JBS focuses on five strategic issues that underpin all Company operations worldwide, one of which is Animal Welfare. This is why we investment every year to improve our plants and encourage best practices that continually improve Animal Welfare throughout the supply chain”, said Nappo. He also explained that the Company is constantly carrying out internal audits to ensure these techniques are applied correctly. In 2017, more than R$ 14.5 million were invested to improve Animal Welfare in Brazil and around 15 thousand people received training, including staff, farmers and suppliers.
Among many initiatives highlighted by the Company, it has committed to transitioning its pork production system from individual to collective gestation crates. JBS has helped integrated suppliers comply with this standard, which means the entire production chain will have progressively implemented the collective gestation system by 2025 – 45% of suppliers have already adopted this system. Furthermore, an Animal Welfare Committee, involving the Sustainability, Quality, Animal Welfare, Agriculture and Livestock and Corporate Communications areas, was set up in 2017 to set guidelines to ensure progress is constantly being made on this issue throughout the company.
In August 2017, JBS committed to only purchasing commercial eggs used as ingredients in its products from poultry farms where chickens are bred without cages. By 2020, JBS processed products made in Brazil using eggs will no longer use eggs produced by caged birds, underlining the extent to which JBS believes it is important to implement Animal Welfare practices throughout its production processes in order to support business sustainability.
All JBS Animal Welfare actions are available on the company’s website.
About JBS
JBS is one of the world’s leading food industry companies with approximately 235 thousand employees in over 20 countries. The Company owns a portfolio of brands that are acknowledged for their excellence and innovation, including Doriana, Friboi, Moy Park, Pilgrim’s Pride, Primo, Seara, Swift, Gold’n Plump and others, serving over 350,000 customers of more than 150 nationalities worldwide. The company’s focus on innovation also reflects its management approach to related businesses in areas such as leather, biodiesel, collagen, personal hygiene and cleaning products, natural wrappings, solid waste management solutions, metal packaging and transportation. JBS has adopted best sustainability practices throughout its value chain and constantly monitors its suppliers using satellite imagery, georeferenced maps of supplier farms and monitors official data from government agencies; the company also focuses on the highest possible food safety and quality standards.
JBS
Corporate Communications Department
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