French retailer Auchan has clarified its position on its use of soy in animal feed, after the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) questioned its use in a report.
The animal-welfare organisation recently released its Soy Scorecard, which ranked 133 European companies according to their use of responsible soy. Auchan did not respond to the survey. This was, as the report alleged, 'despite probably having an enormous soy footprint'.
In a statement released by the company, Auchan cleared up the questions raised by the WWF due to its non-response. "First of all," said the company, "we are not direct buyers of soy.
"Furthermore, for the animal feed, our responsible food policy on specific sectors, such as poultry, Aveyron veal, salmon, bio products [...] and our non-GMO politics regarding our own-brand products, make that the origin of the feed used in these products is diversified by nature. As a result, our impact on the production of soy is intrinsically lower."
The group added that it uses responsible products using a "non-GMO feed completed by soy supplies from non-GMO sectors" and encourages farmers to "increase their cereal and proteinic autonomy".
It added, "Besides, we have launched several working examinations on the subject. We are in discussions with the WWF, which we met recently, and we intend to get closer to the RTRS (Round Table on Responsible Soy)."
Out of the retail companies ranked in the report, Swedish company ICA Gruppen ranked first, with fellow Swedish groups Axfood and Coop Sweden second and third.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by John Golden. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
