Domestic food production, animal welfare and good imports of foreign products are important issues for us. Our work on animal welfare is based on our sustainability policy, which states that ICA must ensure good standards of animal welfare as far as possible. The requirements set regarding quality and demands regarding Corporate Responsibility, including animal welfare, for our suppliers are regulated in attachments to the business agreement. All suppliers, not only the suppliers for the private label products, must fulfill the demands in the sustainability policy (and sustainability appendix) and the PSR (Product specific requirements). The suppliers of private label products must follow the Brand Criteria in addition. These attachments to the business agreement include several demands regarding animal welfare.

The following subjects are listed in the guidelines for the Sustainability policy as important when it comes to questions connected to agriculture, forestry and fishing.

ICA Gruppen should ensure responsible management of natural resources in order to:

• ensure access to quality food
• ensure long-term sustainable agriculture, forestry and fishing
• preserve biological diversity
• reduce deforestation by sourcing commodities such as palm oil, soy, beef, paper and pulp in a sustainable manner.

We shall not sell meat or any other animal parts from animals under threat of extinction.

We shall ensure that the fish we sell comes from catches that are legal with regard to quotas, country of origin, fishing equipment and size. More information about fish, in Swedish, here

Animal welfare

We shall ensure high standards of animal welfare wherever possible. By this, we mean the following:

• animals shall be treated well and protected from unnecessary suffering and disease
• animals shall be kept and cared for in an animal-friendly environment that promotes their health and allows them to behave naturally
• animals shall receive adequate care and attention.

Antibiotics
We do not accept the use of antibiotics for preventive purposes in animal husbandry.

GMO
We shall not accept food products produced with the aid of GMO.

It is not allowed to use cloning for animals used in the food production chain.

All ICA meat comes from selected suppliers that meet our high requirements of quality and animal welfare. Products sold by ICA must be traceable to when and where they were manufactured. In the case of fresh meat, our requirements regarding animal welfare are stricter than EU legislation and we refuse to sell meat from the Belgian Blue breed of cattle. In the “ICA I love eco” range all animal ingredients are KRAV-certified for extra assurance regarding animal welfare. This is because KRAV sets stricter requirements concerning animal welfare than do EU regulations on organic food. Our private labels, such as “ICA Selection Gårdsgris” pork and “ICA Selection Naturbeteskött” free range beef, also help to safeguard the wellbeing of animals. Imported beef is checked according to ICA’s own criteria.
More information, in Swedish, about animal welfare here