We are committed to high animal welfare standards and a sustainable supply chain.

We believe air freighting fruit and veg is completely over the top. It's unnecessary and, with the exception of basil leaves (and in the case of an emergency), we don't do it. At certain times of the year, basil lets us down so we're working hard to find a supplier closer to home.

In saying that, we do understand that for many farmers, particularly in the developing countries, air freighting is an important way to get goods to market and that those goods contribute a great deal towards social and economic development. Unfortunately it's a real sustainability conundrum.

At Pret we have long supported developing countries through the sale of such products as ethically sourced coffee, Fairtrade mangoes, bananas, avocadoes etc, but these are always shipped rather than air freighted. The environmental impact is lessened and farmers still supported. So whilst we will continue to avoid air freighting unless it's absolutely necessary, we will always try to balance and consider all sustainability impacts, environmental, social and economic when selecting our products.

We're proud of the food we sell and ensure we have a thorough knowledge of all our ingredients and products. Where our food comes from, how it's farmed, reared, harvested, produced and delivered is important to us. We want to know everything about it. Wherever possible we buy British and seasonal produce. Asparagus and watercress for example.

A full list of our ingredients can be found here

But what’s good for the environment?
How come the price of a fresh chicken has come down over the last ten years? How can a whole bird be bought for only £2.20? What are they doing to it? Trans fats, weird bulking agents, strange oils, yield-enhancing drugs and preserving potions, not to mention bucket loads of sugar, are dumped in our food these days. Pret is passionate about food. We shun the obscure chemicals, additives and preservatives common to so much ‘prepared’ and ‘fast food’. We do this because natural, fresh food tastes better than processed food and it’s good for you.

Would you be prepared to pay twice as much for a free-range organic chicken sandwich? We're working with UK higher welfare farmers now, watch this space...

Is it best to use local produce or sea-freight organic produce from overseas? We use Fairtrade mango from the Philippines.

Is Fairtrade coffee better than Rainforest Alliance coffee or organic? Pret's 'Just Roasted' coffee has three-badge certification: organic, Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance and is prepared with organic milk (or soya if you prefer).

These are challenging questions with no simple answers. We tackle them, one by one. We listen to the arguments and weigh up the evidence. Fingers crossed, we make the right decisions.

Animal Welfare
All our meat and dairy produce is farmed to the standards of British Farm Assured. In most cases we exceed these standards.

Our chickens

The chicken in our sandwiches currently comes from Brazil (we are trialling Free Range UK). This may seem like an awfully long way away but there are two very good reasons why we do this; one is concerned with animal welfare standards and one is to do with the volume and specification of the meat that we use.

Our Brazilian chickens have a high standard of living. They enjoy life on rural farms, in open-sided barns. Open-sided isn't some marketing phrase or eco-spin to make ourselves (and our customers) feel better, it's a way of farming that gives the birds natural sunlight and fresh air - vitally important elements for any sentient creature. Because of this sunshine and fresh air, the birds are able to display more of their natural behaviours like bathing in dust baths and chasing insects. Our chickens also have a lower stocking density than standard UK chicken farms so they have much more space to cluck around in. No antibiotics are used, and they are fed on GM-free maize and wheat.

The Brazilian production facilities are regularly audited against BRC (British Retail Consortium) standards by independent auditors, and we have visited the farms ourselves. We were delighted by the conditions we found and would much prefer to raise our chickens in this way.

The breast meat is frozen (to maintain optimum freshness) and brought to the UK where it is marinated and cooked. The meat is sea-freighted to minimise our carbon footprint.

We would prefer to source our chickens from the UK but there currently isn't enough availability of either free-range or higher welfare (Freedom Food equivalent) chicken breast meat for us in the UK as the majority of the current production is tied up supplying the major supermarkets. Evenso we have a plan in place and will keep you posted.

Good eggs

Pret only uses free-range eggs sourced from the UK. These are used in all products including muffins, cakes and sauces. Pret was holds the Good Egg Award from Compassion In World Farming (CIWF) for using only free-range eggs in all of our products. All sourced in the UK, we use them in everything from our muffins to our mayo.

Our cows

All our cattle are free-range and usually grass fed. The cows are brought in and housed in barns during bad weather. This makes their lives much more comfortable. Even when brought inside they are guaranteed natural light.

All Pret milk is organic and has been for years. Rachel's Organic, who supply us, were recently voted the UK's best organic dairy.

Our pigs

The pork that we use for our bacon and ham is British Farm Assured. Wherever possible we source from UK farms. Our ham is Wiltshire cured and our bacon slow cured and never pumped with water.

Our fish

Our tuna is pole and line caught skipjack tuna from the Maldives, which is the most sustainable fishing method that avoids the dreadful by-catch issue. We have never used bluefin tuna in our sushi and have recently dropped yellowfin tuna from sushi as well.

Our crayfish are caught wild and come from China. We insist that our supplier meets high standards, in line with those in the UK and Europe (all factories are BRC accredited). In fact we have just sent a team out to China to meet our fishermen.

And here is Mr Chen with the latest catch...

Our smoked salmon is from low-density farms rather than wild. Fast flowing water is passed over the stocks in order to replenish oxygen and remove waste, and they are fed a GM-free diet. Our salmon supplier's farms are working towards the RSPCA Freedom Food accreditation.