Harris Teeter is committed to ensuring humane treatment and living conditions for animals. We recognize our responsibility in this area and reinforce this commitment to our meat and poultry suppliers. We believe that by building a close working relationship and developing best practices with our suppliers we will be able to ensure animal well-being at every step of the production process.
In an effort to educate our shoppers about our existing commitment to animal welfare, Harris Teeter is sharing details about its current policies in the fight against animal cruelty. Below you will find a detailed description of the major areas of focus:
Controlled-Atmosphere Killing (CAK) and Controlled-Atmosphere Stunning (CAS):
In our meat department, Harris Teeter is currently purchasing 32% of its chicken meat from producers using CAS that are Certified Humane or Global Animal Partnership-certified Harris Teeter also purchases 25% of its turkey meat from animal welfare-friendly CAS producers, and gives purchasing preference to suppliers using animal welfare-friendly controlled-atmosphere slaughter systems. It is Harris Teeter's goal to continually increase the amount of CAS poultry purchased and sold throughout the chain, as this method becomes more widely available.
Cage-Free Eggs:
As the leader among conventional grocery chains, Harris Teeter has surpassed its goal of 12% cage-free eggs in 2012 as Harris Teeter is selling over 12% of eggs from cage-free hens in 2011. The company currently offers two HT Natural eggs that are cage-free and has a policy to give buying preference for cage-free eggs. Harris Teeter will increase the share of egg business represented by cage-free eggs to 14% by 2012 through increased promotional efforts.
Gestation Crates:
Harris Teeter is committed to working with suppliers to phase-out gestation crates for breeding pigs and to increasing volume from suppliers that do not utilize gestation crates.
Harris Teeter Milk:
All Harris Teeter milk comes from cows not treated with rbst/rBGH and 14% of total milk sold at Harris Teeter is certified organic.
Harris Teeter Beef:
Harris Teeter Rancher® beef and Harris Teeter Reserve® Angus beef are supplied by producers dedicated to the humane treatment of cattle. Further, throughout the production process, a third-party monitoring system ensures compliance with the American Meat Institute’s (AMI) animal welfare audit system. The AMI system prioritizes animal welfare during handling to produce quality products and maintain respect for animal well-being.
Harris Teeter is currently and will continue to work closely with the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and the National Council of Chain Restaurants (NCCR) to develop an industry-wide program that will strengthen food quality and safety. Our suppliers are required to monitor their handling of livestock and poultry, as outlined by the guidelines provided by the American Meat Institute.
Animal welfare is an important issue to Harris Teeter, our customers and associates. We will continue to work with our partner organizations to develop a collaborative approach to ensure animals are raised, transported and processed as humanely as possible.
For more information on our partner organizations please visit: