We are committed to continuously improving how we source our ingredients and demonstrating accountability for ethical business practices, sustainability and social responsibility.
Building on our long-standing ingredient sourcing programs and practices, we are formalizing our approach through our responsible sourcing goal: Wendy’s is committed to responsibly sourcing our top 10 priority food categories by 2030 in the U.S. and Canada.
Since announcing this goal, we have evaluated the environmental and social impacts associated with each of these food categories, validating each of the categories’ inclusion on our priority list. We also convened cross-functional Responsible Sourcing working groups to drive progress, which has helped us in establishing boundaries for each of the priority food categories to clarify what each encompasses and identifying potential focus areas. As next steps, we will align on the metrics we plan to use to demonstrate progress, deepen our supplier engagement and launch a data collection process to evaluate baseline performance and advance progress against ingredient-specific metrics to improve category performance.
“Establishing our responsible sourcing goal has been a critical priority for us, as our most important impact and asset is our food. We want to ensure a responsible and transparent supply chain, particularly for our top 10 priority food categories, and continue to build on our long-standing sourcing practices and programs.”
Chief Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Officer
Animal care considerations have been a core element of Wendy’s quality assurance and supply chain practices for decades and many of the requirements we’ve developed for our suppliers have set the standard for the quick-service restaurant industry. Two aspects that set our work apart are our longstanding relationships with progressive industry experts, many of whom serve on the Wendy’s Animal Welfare Council, and our audit-based approach to animal welfare. We are enhancing these relationships and auditing practices even further by bringing in new experts and leveraging the council to revamp the standards we apply to ourselves and our suppliers.
We source our beef, pork, chicken, eggs and dairy from suppliers who meet or exceed our standards for quality, food safety and animal welfare.
Wendy’s is proud to serve fresh, never frozen, North American beef in restaurants in the contiguous U.S., Alaska and Canada. We only source beef with high quality grades, such as Prime or Choice. In addition to advancing our commitments in the areas of beef antibiotic use and traceability, we’ve also been working with industry experts, including the Wendy’s Animal Welfare Council, on the Wendy’s Animal Care Standards Program.
Wendy’s only sources pork that is 100% Pork Quality Assurance® Plus (PQA Plus) Certified or the equivalent for our sausage and bacon. We also work closely with the pork industry and our progressive suppliers via the Wendy’s Animal Care Standards Program on topics like antibiotic reduction and sow housing.
Wendy’s sources chicken (filets for chicken sandwiches and white meat chicken included in nuggets) from suppliers who meet or exceed our standards for quality, food safety and animal welfare.
We only use fresh-cracked, Grade-A eggs on our breakfast sandwiches. All our egg suppliers are required to have independent, third-party audits conducted annually by PAACO-certified auditors. Before a supplier can be approved for the Wendy’s system, they must undergo and pass a Wendy’s Animal Welfare audit as well as a third-party audit. We’ll continue to work closely with our suppliers and industry experts as part of our responsible sourcing goal and through the Wendy’s Animal Care Standards Program.
Dairy is a key ingredient in the Wendy’s Frosty®, cheese for sandwiches and salads and more, and milk is also offered as a beverage. Through the Wendy’s Animal Care Standards Program, we will continue to drive animal care and environmental advancements.
Wendy’s is proud to serve fresh, never frozen, North American beef in restaurants in the contiguous U.S., Alaska and Canada. We only source beef with high quality grades, such as Prime or Choice. In addition to advancing our commitments in the areas of beef antibiotic use and traceability, we’ve also been working with industry experts, including the Wendy’s Animal Welfare Council, on the Wendy’s Animal Care Standards Program.
Wendy’s only sources pork that is 100% Pork Quality Assurance® Plus (PQA Plus) Certified or the equivalent for our sausage and bacon. We also work closely with the pork industry and our progressive suppliers via the Wendy’s Animal Care Standards Program on topics like antibiotic reduction and sow housing.
Wendy’s sources chicken (filets for chicken sandwiches and white meat chicken included in nuggets) from suppliers who meet or exceed our standards for quality, food safety and animal welfare.
We only use fresh-cracked, Grade-A eggs on our breakfast sandwiches. All our egg suppliers are required to have independent, third-party audits conducted annually by PAACO-certified auditors. Before a supplier can be approved for the Wendy’s system, they must undergo and pass a Wendy’s Animal Welfare audit as well as a third-party audit. We’ll continue to work closely with our suppliers and industry experts as part of our responsible sourcing goal and through the Wendy’s Animal Care Standards Program.
Dairy is a key ingredient in the Wendy’s Frosty®, cheese for sandwiches and salads and more, and milk is also offered as a beverage. Through the Wendy’s Animal Care Standards Program, we will continue to drive animal care and environmental advancements.
Potatoes and fresh produce are hallmarks of our menu. We are investing in new and innovative ways, like greenhouse-grown produce, to bring freshness, peak quality and flavor to every menu item.
From our Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee to our cold drinks and tea, Wendy’s works to provide responsibly sourced refreshment.
Wendy’s works to responsibly source key ingredients for our buns and bakery items, as well as oils used in other products.