The company has operations in 80 countries and sources approximately a quarter of a billion shell eggs worldwide per year.

It will partner with Humane Society International (HSI) and other animal protection organisations, including Compassion in World Farming and The Humane League, to implement this change.

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 by committing to transitioning to a 100 per cent cage-free egg supply chain.”

Michel Francheschi, Group SVP Supply Management at Sodexo, said: “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.”

Sodexo joins a growing number of companies that have also committed to sourcing only cage-free eggs in their global supply chains, including Unilever, Grupo Bimbo and Nestlé. More than 60 food companies - including McDonald’s, Burger King and Walmart - have also announced a complete transition to cage-free eggs in their US supply chains.