Shopping guide for eggs
The humble egg – a staple of our diet and now dubbed a super food. It’s a great
source of protein, B vitamins and minerals all in a nice little package of about
78Kcal (for a medium egg).
What to look for when buying eggs
We eat an estimated 186 eggs per year each, so it’s worth knowing what you are buying
– and eating.
All boxes of whole eggs sold in this country must state the method of production clearly, so you can easily check whether the eggs have come from hens kept in cages or whether they have come from higher-welfare alternative systems such as barn, free-range or organic. Each egg is also stamped with a code for the method of production, country of origin and the originating farm.
0 = organic
1 = free-range
2 = barn
3 = caged
Freedom Food only approves farms rearing their hens to the RSPCA welfare standards where cages are prohibited. So called ‘alternative eggs’
What do the different systems mean?
Conventional Battery Cages…
Made out of thin wire with a sloping mesh floor and often stacked 10 tiers high, a cage typically measures 50 x 55cm and houses five birds. EU legislation states a minimum of only 550cm² per bird- less than the size of an A4 sheet. The birds can't move about, stretch, nest or perform other normal chicken behaviours like preening or scratching properly. There are a host of welfare problems associated with cages: The sloping wire floor can damage feet and claws; restricted movement results in fragile and often broken bones as well as frustration and aggression. And in such close confines hens cannot escape aggression from other hens.
Enriched Battery Cages?
Conventional battery cages will be banned in 2012 but so-called 'enriched' cages will still be allowed. These cages provide just 50cm² of extra usable area per bird and limited facilities. The RSPCA believes these still fail to properly cater for the hen's physical and behavioural needs and impose severe restrictions on movement.
What is a Barn System?
Barns allow the hens to roam freely inside uncaged, have perches to roost on and space to stretch their wings. Nesting boxes provide a quiet place for egg-laying and there is floor litter for scratching in. Multi-tier barns provide additional levels above ground for the hens to explore.
What is a Free-Range System?
Most likely the hens are raised in similar-sized barns to the barn system with the same facilities but with the addition of pop holes that allow access to the outdoors. EU legislation permits a stocking density of 2500 birds per hectare whereas the RSPCA requires up to a maximum of 2000 birds per hectare during the life of the flock. This is to allow good land management without ever going over the maximum EU stocking density. Shade and shelter on the range encourage the hens outside and protects them from bad weather and predators.
How is Organic different?
Eggs labelled 'organic' are from hens reared in a free-range environment with additional standards set out by an approved certification organisation (The Soil Association, for example) and European law. As such, organic standards can vary between the different certification organisations, but generally focus on sustainability issues, including soil health and biodiversity. For dedicated attention to farm animal welfare, look out for the Freedom Food logo as well.
What do the Labels mean?
Look out for clearly labelled cartons containing the words 'free-range' or 'barn' - if they're not there, the eggs are likely to be cage-laid. (It is actually a legal requirement to state the production system on the carton). The British Lion symbol means that the eggs are British-laid and have been vaccinated against salmonella but it can apply to cage eggs as well as eggs from alternative systems, so it is not a guarantee of higher welfare.
The RSPCA believes that battery cages harm the birds' welfare and prevent them from expressing natural behaviour and unfortunately the so-called ‘enriched’ cages that will still be allowed once battery caged systems are banned from 2012 are little better. They are campaigning to have all caged systems banned and obviously do not support them.
Fortunately, consumer power has had a great effect on what is offered on the supermarket shelves. Several retailers including Waitrose, The co-operative, M&S and Sainsbury’s have banned caged eggs from their shelves. Overall the proportion of eggs from caged hens is down from 80% to 50% in the last 12 years – but that still means about 17 million hens in the UK are kept in cages.
Of course, eggs are superb value. A quick trawl through the supermarket shelves sees a small variation in price with all the major food retailers offering half a dozen medium free-range Freedom Food labelled eggs for between £1.46 and £1.58. There are barn eggs too – at the time of writing* Sainsbury’s Basics Freedom Food labelled box of barn eggs is just 98 pence.
*17 February 2011