An investigation has documented severe animal welfare violations and food safety risks at egg suppliers serving Carrefour stores in the Dominican Republic and Guadeloupe. The findings come as food companies increasingly adopt comprehensive animal welfare policies across their supply chains.
The investigation conducted by Equitas, an international consumer protection organization, examined egg producers Huevos Endy and Huevos del Pais, based in the Santiago region, whose eggs are sold at Carrefour locations across the Dominican Republic. Footage documented feces and dirt caked on cage bars adjacent to birds and eggs, as well as hens confined in tiny cages for their entire lives, resulting in deformed limbs and damaged bodies. A separate Equitas investigation found nearly identical conditions at Carrefour’s primary egg supplier in Guadeloupe.
“This investigation into key Carrefour egg suppliers in the Dominican Republic shows severe food safety risks and blatant animal cruelty,” said Dana Taborosi, campaign manager at Equitas. “Carrefour continues to sell its customers in the Dominican Republic and elsewhere in the Caribbean eggs from hens packed in filthy, cruel cages that pose a significant risk to public health.”
Food safety implications
The European Food Safety Authority and a dozen international research teams have documented that cage-egg farms carry up to 33 times higher Salmonella contamination risk compared to cage-free systems. Huevos Endy’s parent company, Endy Agroindustrial, operates more than 500,000 birds and holds international export certification, amplifying food safety concerns given the scale and export status.
The contamination risk raises particular concern given the documented filthy conditions including feces accumulation on equipment adjacent to eggs and birds. Cage-based production systems concentrate waste in close proximity to eggs and living areas, creating conditions conducive to pathogen transmission.
Battery cage systems are prohibited across the European Union, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Canada, and parts of the United States and Australia — over 30 countries total. Carrefour operates hundreds of stores across mainland France and other EU countries, where eggs produced under the documented Dominican Republic conditions would be illegal for sale to consumers.
“Eggs produced under these conditions could never legally be sold to consumers in Paris — yet Carrefour appears to permit them in Caribbean markets where consumer pressure is weaker,” Equitas stated.
Industry trend toward comprehensive welfare policies
The investigation emerges as an industry trend accelerates toward comprehensive animal welfare policies. Food companies are increasingly moving beyond isolated commitments focused on specific issues to establish comprehensive welfare standards across all protein categories in their supply chains, according to reporting on sector developments.
Companies, including travel and event catering leader DO & CO, have begun establishing comprehensive standards for fish, crustaceans, chickens, and pigs across their global supply chains, reflecting a growing recognition that animal welfare represents competitive necessity rather than discretionary corporate responsibility.
Over 80 food companies have established timelines to transition to cage-free egg sourcing globally, including leading retailers such as ALDI, Costco, Auchan, Ahold Delhaize, Tesco, and Metro. Carrefour established a cage-free commitment for its Brazilian stores in 2018, but has not extended equivalent pledges to Caribbean operations.
“Carrefour is one of the only global retailers that has failed to pledge to shift away from caged eggs across its global markets, including the Caribbean,” Equitas noted. The company’s limited cage-free commitment contrasts with the broader industry movement toward standardized global animal welfare requirements.
Equitas called on Carrefour to “catch up with other leading retailers and set a timeline for ending the sale of caged eggs in the Dominican Republic and globally.”
