Germany's Rewe Group has announced that it is to expand its 'respeggt'-certified free-range eggs offering to 1,350 Rewe and Penny stores in Germany, starting today (23 September).
Every year, around 45 million male chicks are killed in Germany soon after hatching as they neither lay eggs nor grow up to be meaty.
Respeggt certification ensures that the eggs have undergone a non-invasive gender identification test developed by SELEGGT GmbH.
The technology - supported by Rewe Group, the Dutch incubation technology company HatchTech B.V. and researchers from the University of Leipzig - helps prevent the culling of male chicken by identifying the gender before they hatch.
'Purchasing Decision'
"With the free-range adult eggs, we now have eggs in more than 1,300 stores for which no male chicks have been killed, and I am delighted that our customers help us by making a purchase decision [that puts an end to] the culling of male chickens," said Bartholomäus Malcherek, the head of fresh, frozen food, private-label purchasing, and national and international development of the REWE Group.
The eggs will be available in Rewe and Penny stores in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Berlin, Brandenburg, Lower Saxony, Bremen and parts of NRW, Hesse, and Saxony.
In November 2018, the retailer introduced the eggs in around 230 stores in the Greater Berlin area.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
