Chicken sold by Albert Heijn is not as ethical and animal-friendly as the supermarket group is claiming, the Dutch advertising standards authority is quoted as saying by animal rights group Wakker Dier.

Wakker Dier took the issue to the authority after Albert Heijn began advertising its ‘responsible’ answer to factory-farmed chicken – known as plofkip or ‘exploding chicken’ in popular Dutch.

The authority said the advertising around the launch of the Hollandse Kip – Dutch chicken – contained misleading information, Wakker Dier claims on its website.

The supermarket group says the birds are raised in a 100% responsible way in ‘good living conditions’. In fact the chickens live in groups of 19 in a single square metre – rather than the 21 in traditional factory farming – and never go outside.

In 2013, representatives of supermarkets, abattoirs and poultry farms agreed that from 2015, chickens reared for Dutch supermarkets will be of a slower-growing breed. They will be given 10% more space, six hours sleep instead of just four and have straw and grain to ‘play’ with.