The world’s largest catering supplier, Sodexo, has agreed to switch to sourcing only cage-free eggs by 2025. The decision follows announcements made by major supermarkets in recent weeks, following concerted pressure from animal welfare groups.

Sodexo’s announcement follows announcements from Tesco in the UK and Walmart in the United States, though the UK subsidiary of the world’s largest supermarket chain, Asda, has come in for criticism as the retailer has not committed itself to phasing out sourcing eggs from caged birds.

By 2025, France-based Sodexo said it will source barn or free-range eggs for its entire 80-country global operation. The company uses 250 million shell eggs each year. The pledge to source cage-free eggs covers both shell and liquid egg.

Animal welfare charities the Humane Society International (HSI) and Compassion in World Farming will work with Sodexo through its transitioning procurement process.

On Monday, Chetana Mirle, director of HSI Farm Animals, said, “Consumers around the globe care about the way animals are treated in food production and we praise Sodexo for taking these concerns seriously. With its reach in 80 countries, Sodexo’s egg policy will improve the lives of millions of animals, and sends a clear message to the global egg industry that cage-free production systems are the way forward. We look forward to working with more companies on similar policies.”

Michel Francheschi, a spokesperson for Sodexo management, said in a statement, “Our objective is to work collaboratively with our partners to support and contribute to the progressive transformation of the whole industry.  We will gather all the actors around the table in order to accompany the conversion and the evolution of the local industry so that by 2025, we will be able to source cage-free eggs from local producers in each country where we operate.”