Overview

• Aldi Süd is restructuring its fresh meat sections across 2,000 stores in Southern and Western Germany, organizing products by animal welfare categories instead of animal type, with completion targeted by mid-July 2025.
• The new shelving system uses a three-color scheme: blue for conventional farming (Haltungsform 1 and 2), green for higher welfare levels (3–5), and red for promotional offers.
• Critics, including consumer advocates, warn that placing all ground meat in the green section regardless of welfare level could mislead shoppers and reduce transparency.
• Competitors like Lidl, Kaufland, and Aldi Nord are maintaining traditional layouts, while Edeka and Netto are evaluating the feasibility of adopting similar welfare-based sorting approaches.
• This initiative aligns with broader industry goals to phase out low-welfare products and shift private-label fresh meat to higher welfare standards (Haltungsform 3 and 4) by 2030.