Wendy’s suppliers given code of conduct

Wendy’s has released its first supplier code of conduct, following years of being the target of groups that have battled the company over various practices involving the treatment of workers and animals.

Taking effect next year, the code of conduct is a guide for suppliers doing business with Wendy’s and its system of 6,000 restaurants. The new code is for food producers and manufacturers doing business with the company’s independent Quality Supply Chain Co-op Inc., which covers more than 90 percent of company and franchisee food purchases.

Though it isn’t groundbreak-

ing, the document is important, said Dennis Lombardi, principle of Insight Dynamics, a food-and-beverage industry consultant.

“It is something they should do,” Lombardi said. “It aligns with consumers wanting more transparency.”

The code does not get into specifics about issues such as wages for farmworkers, animal welfare and other hot-button food topics, but it compels suppliers to “do the right thing” and “treat people with respect.” The code also points suppliers to follow federal laws and standards.

This follows guidelines Wendy’s released several years ago. The company has said that it wants to eliminate gestation stalls for pigs by 2022 and has detailed rules for how chickens, cows and other animals should be raised and slaughtered. Wendy’s audits animal suppliers twice a year.

“Recent pork-industry efforts to move away from single-sow gestation crates are a move in the right direction,” reads the company’s guidelines for pork producers. “Wendy’s has asked its suppliers to adopt a comprehensive plan to eliminate sow-gestation stalls. We give preferential buying to approved suppliers who adopt an ongoing plan to implement this practice.”

The company is also buying a portion of its eggs from cagefree sources.

Though the code is a step toward demanding more accountability of its supply

Wendy’s needs to monitor results and enforce standards for the code to work, an activist says.

chain, if Wendy’s is not monitoring results and enforcing standards, it doesn’t mean much, said Laura Espinoza, executive director of the Fair Food Standards Council, an organization devoted to improving conditions and wages for workers in Florida’s produce industry.

Fair Food has been a critic of Wendy’s for not participating in its program, which has been endorsed by Chipotle, Burger King, McDonald’s and Subway, among others.

“Without enforcement, standards are meaningless,” Espinoza said. “Violations must lead to consequences.”

Wendy’s has a 24-hour hotline for people to make complaints about its suppliers, but other than the audits for animal welfare, the code of conduct is self-policed. Wendy’s does maintain that violations of the code could result in loss of business.

Companies in all industries are producing similar public documents about their supply chains, Lombardi said. He said the powerful millennial demographic wants to know where things come from and how they are made, and they are forcing companies to be more open.

“Food is pertinent to the consumer,” Lombardi said. “You don’t eat an automobile or a shirt.”