Tips To Buy Eggs.
Thanks to EU regulations we can at least choose whether to buy eggs from hens kept in cages, indoor barns where they can move freely, or from free-range birds, with daytime access to outdoor runs whenever they want. This information must be given on egg boxes. Eighty-five per cent of UK eggs come stamped with the red 'Lion Quality' mark. The mark indicates that they're included in what is essentially a food-safety scheme (all Lion Quality eggs are from hens vaccinated against salmonella) but the scheme also sets higher standards of welfare than that required by law. Yet while the UK has the largest number of free-range hens in Europe, and demand for free-range eggs currently exceeds production, 56 per cent of eggs sold still come from caged hens; six per cent are from barn hens.
The RSPCA will not give the Freedom Food label to eggs from caged hens, of which there are an estimated 19 million. Their laying lives are short - most are no use after a year - and miserable.
![]()
The worst cages were due to be phased out in Europe by 2012 and replaced with 'enriched' cages, which welfare lobbyists believe are little better. Even so, some member states may not be able to comply with the regulations in time and a deTlayed review of this EU directive is causing concerns that the ban on cages will be even longer to come into force. Free-range laying hens usually have their beaks trimmed to prevent them pecking each other, and most of the birds are kept in very large flocks. Freedom Food laying hens have larger range areas. Organic laying hens are kept in smaller flocks than free-range, have twice as much indoor space - and Soil Association hens have more outdoor space. Their beaks are not trimmed, either .












.jpg)
.jpg)
