Our Ingredients

At Bloomin’ Brands, we are committed to bringing people together to share a delicious meal, and that starts with how we source our ingredients. Our suppliers share our commitment to offering safe, high-quality ingredients in a sustainable way. We require all suppliers to comply with our Supplier Code of Ethics and strive to source only products that are raised in a manner that supports the health of people, animals, and the environment.

Animal Welfare

More than a decade ago, we created an Advisory Council – comprised of distinguished animal science and food safety experts – to guide our policies and assist with assessments of advancements in animal welfare and food safety.

All of our protein suppliers have established humane handling practices and meet and or exceed the applicable USDA, American Meat Institute, United Egg Producers, and National Chicken Council guidelines for humane handling of animals, such as proper food, water, shelter conditions, and appropriate veterinary care. To help ensure compliance with these guidelines, we require a compliance audit completed by a recognized independent, third-party specialist at each of our protein supplier facilities, at least annually.

We believe that the humane treatment of animals is an ethical obligation we owe to ourselves and our customers. We continue to make significant progress toward achieving our species-specific animal welfare goals to fulfill this commitment.

One of these goals is addressing our use of cage-free eggs globally. In the U.S., we are working to purchase only cage-free eggs by 2025. Currently, 33 percent of our purchases are from cage-free hens. The remainder of our scheduled transition, 66 percent by the end of 2023, and 100 percent by the end of 2024 is unchanged. In 2017, we committed to purchasing cage-free eggs for our restaurants in Brazil by 2025, subject to the availability of an adequate, competitive supply. We are now expanding the goal and will work towards transitioning to 100 percent cage-free eggs globally by 2030.

Other species-specific goals include:

Ensuring the majority of our beef remains Beef Quality Assurance℠ (BQA) certified
Collaborating with at least one animal welfare stakeholder to advance policy objectives
Working with suppliers to implement group housing systems for all pork products
Encouraging and measuring higher welfare outcomes for farm animals in our supply chain

Antibiotics

We believe antibiotics should only be used when medically necessary and support those who are working in that direction.

We are working with suppliers to ensure that they follow Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines to phase out routine use of medically important antibiotics to human medicine and restrict other antibiotic use to veterinarians treating, preventing, and controlling disease in animals.

We recognize the health concerns associated with antibiotic resistance and are developing a policy based on best practices, government health standards, guidelines, and other stakeholder perspectives.

Once our new animal welfare and antibiotics policies are established, we will work with our supply chain partners to ensure full compliance.

Food Safety

Serving safe food has always been our priority, from our commitment to purchasing the safest and most wholesome ingredients available to ensuring we properly handle, prepare, and serve the highest quality items to our guests.

We utilize both internal auditors responsible for supplier evaluations and external third parties who inspect supplier adherence and kitchen practices to ensure quality, food safety, and product specifications.

We adhere to the best practices for food handling in all of our restaurants, constantly monitor and innovate to improve procedures. Our restaurant teams have many touchpoints to ensure food safety, quality, and freshness through all phases of preparation.

Sustainable Sourcing

Sustainably sourcing our ingredients is a complex endeavor, but we are committed to doing our part to ensure that our animal protein supply chains demonstrate environmentally and socially sustainable practices.

We are committed to taking practical, science-based steps to promote sustainability throughout our supply chain and will continually evaluate the impact of our actions and adjust our practices and guidelines to reflect our progress, innovations, and challenges.

Sustainable Seafood

Sourcing high-quality seafood harvested in a sustainable manner is an important priority. Seafood supply chains are complex and protecting the ecosystems and people that support them is critical to preserving these natural resources. We encourage suppliers to adhere to the seafood principles outlined by the Restaurant Roundtable for Sustainability.

Land-Based Proteins

We understand there are human, environmental, and animal impacts rooted in land-based protein supply chains and continue to evolve our commitment to purchasing sustainable products that are produced responsibly. This includes expanding our efforts beyond the U.S. to other countries where we source raw materials or products.

We are identifying areas throughout the supply chain where we can make an impact. Sustainability is also being incorporated into our Supplier Code of Ethics and procurement contracts, as we build the foundation to measure and reduce the environmental impact of our menu offerings.

Our goals include sourcing at least 60 percent of land-based proteins from suppliers that maintain a deforestation-free supply chain by 2025. Our procurement guidelines also include specific requirements to ensure that we purchase only land-based proteins from suppliers committed to raising and producing animals ethically and free from antibiotics.

Our vision is to offer guests the best dining experience knowing they can trust that Bloomin’ Brands is making responsible decisions about the sustainability of land-based proteins by mitigating the negative impacts on the Earth’s resources.