The majority of Australians are happy to splash a little more cash on free range eggs to ensure the conditions our farm animals are kept in are top notch.
However, the federal, state and territory governments have recently agreed to allow egg producers to continue marking their products with misleading free range labels which means consumers are paying a premium for being deceived.
The meeting that took place last week decided that:
•’Free-range’ can mean eggs produced by hens stocked at up to 10,000 birds per hectare, not the maximum 1,500 per hectare that the CSIRO Model Code recommends.
•Egg cartons will have to display stocking densities, but there’s no requirement for to chickens to actually go outside.
This means, if you’re an egg farmer, you can squish six times the CSIRO’s advised limit of hens in a space as well as denying them the chance to go outside and STILL call yourself “free range.”
Some of the brands bending the rules are:
• Aldi (Lodge Farm Free Range Eggs)
• Coles Free Range
• Ecoeggs
• Farm Pride Free Range
• Pace Farm Free Range
• Woolworths Free Range
And the best brands include:
• Hoods Earth Eggs
• IdleWilde Farm Free Range Eggs
• Golden Yolk Eggs
• Little Creek Farm
• Holbrook Paddock Free Range Eggs
For an even bigger list of the best and worse brands, CHOICE have done all the hard work for you here.
