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 and Fair-trade mangoes 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

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.

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

Is Fair-trade coffee better than Rainforest Alliance coffee or organic? Pret's Freshly Roasted coffee has three-badge certification: organic, Fair-trade 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.

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

All our chickens are now bred here in the UK to the Higher Welfare standard.

This means they are reared in purpose-built houses with windows down each side to allow the natural light to stream in. They also have straw bales and perches to play with to keep them fit and active.

The hens have 20% more space than the industry standard, giving them the room they need to move freely. These standards meet the RSPCA's recommendations for stocking density and have the support of other key organizations such as Compassion In World Farming (CIWF).

In recognition we won a Good Chicken Award from Compassion in World Farming for our commitment to launching British Higher Welfare Chicken.

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.

All our cattle are free-range and 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.

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

Our tuna is pole and line caught skipjack tuna from the Maldives and Ghana. Using the pole and line method to catch the tuna is the most sustainable fishing method as it avoids the dreadful by-catch issue. We have never used blue fin tuna in our sushi and have recently dropped yellow fin 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.

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.