Consumer advocacy group Choice says 213 million ‘free range' eggs sold in Australia last year failed to meet consumers’ expectations of the free range claim - and fell short of the national model code of practice.
Choice's research found that some of the largest egg brands - including Pace Farm, Farm Pride, Manning Valley, Woolworths and Coles - have stocking densities that are at odds with consumers’ expectations and the model code of 1,500 birds per hectare.
According to its latest report, however, consumers pay nearly double the amount for free range eggs compared to caged.
“If you are paying extra for eggs labelled ‘free range’ today, the sad fact is you are most likely being misled and ripped off,” says Choice director of campaigns & communications Matt Levey.
“Many consumers are paying extra assuming hens are staying in the equivalent of a comfortable bed and breakfast but instead they’re stuck in a crowded backpacker hostel. We need a national standard so that anyone claiming to sell ‘free range’ eggs has to meet minimum requirements."
The report was timed to be released ahead of a meeting of State, Territory and Federal Ministers on Friday to consider a national code for free range eggs.
Choice says that Friday’s ministerial meeting will have the opportunity to end the free-range rip-off, which currently sees some of the largest-scale producers charge the highest prices.
“We could only find stocking densities for 35 of the 55 free range products investigated – and only 17 of those were on the carton – showing there is a massive information gap,” Levey says.
“Stocking densities ranged from 185 to 10,000 hens per hectare. Despite this extreme variation, there was no absolute correlation between the price of eggs and the stocking density. It looks like some businesses are hoping to cash in on consumer demand for genuine free range eggs without delivering for hens."
Choice says it believes a free range standard should combine the common-sense definition of free range resulting from recent ACCC enforcement actions and a consistent display of stocking densities so that consumers are able to buy products that meet their expectations.
