McDonald’s switching to cage-free eggs in New Zealand

Quick service restaurant chain McDonald's is transitioning into serving eggs from free-range hens at all 164 of its locations in New Zealand by the end of 2016.
The decision was announced on July 13 but follows the company’s move to cage-free eggs for the McDonald’s restaurants in Christchurch and Dunedin that occurred in 2009, according to a report from NZ Herald.
It is estimated that when the transition is completed, McDonald’s will buy about 9 percent of all free-range eggs sold in the country. That amounts to about 13 million eggs annually.
McDonald's New Zealand managing director Patrick Wilson said the move was in response to consumer demand via the company’s website.
Wilson added that the restaurant chain’s suppliers – including Otaika Valley Free Range Eggs and Zeagold Foods -- are investing in cage-free egg facilities to help meet the demand.
McDonald’s announcement to switch to cage-free eggs in New Zealand follows a similar decision announced by the company regarding its restaurants in Australia. Less than one year ago, the company stated it would serve only eggs from cage-free operations by the end of 2017.  In 2010, McDonald’s stopped serving eggs from caged hens at all of the company’s locations in Europe.

UK free range egg producers to study reducing 2nd quality eggs

The British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA) is to conduct a study to look at ways to reduce wastage and improve income for producers by cutting the number of seconds.
There is a GBP0.60 (US$0.92) per dozen price differential between first and second quality eggs in the U.K., and it is estimated that a reduction in seconds of one percent alone could improve egg farmers’ income by 15 percent per bird.
BFREPA has commissioned agricultural consultancy ADAS to conduct the work, which will involve studying possible causes of seconds in the production unit, in transit and also in the packing center to which eggs are sent.
“The co-operation of the packers will be needed so that ADAS can follow the egg all the way from the hen to the box,” said Robert Gooch, director of policy with BFREPA. “It will be interesting to see where breakages occur and to see whether we can reduce them.”
As far as producers are concerned, the researchers will visit farms when the layers are 35 weeks old to look at the systems being used, the equipment on the unit and how the unit is being managed. They will conduct test gradings, and suggest ways in which practices can be improved to reduce the level of seconds. They will then return four weeks after the initial assessment to see whether the suggested changes have made any difference on the farm. 

Australia study aims to optimize free-range laying hen welfare

An Australian study being carried out by Geoff Hitch at the University of New England and Dr. Caroline Lee at CSIRO will examine the influence of differing stocking densities on free-range space utilization, the welfare and productivity of laying hens, and the effect of early life interventions on adaptability of free-range laying hens to later life environmental stressors, range utilization and choice feeding.
The project will first examine three stocking densities: 2,000, 10,000 and 200,000 birds per hectare. The trial will be replicated and conducted over a six-month period (to 40 weeks of lay). The indoor stocking density of all birds will be 12 birds/m².
To assess bird welfare, the project will employ behavioral tests, record bird behaviors with video cameras and audio equipment, and monitor stress hormones in the birds. In addition, production indicators, such as feather scores, weight change during the experiment, egg production and egg quality will be measured.
The project will also examine the effect of genotype and early life interventions on adaptation, welfare and utilization of the range. In addition, the effect of range-feeding with insects on performance and nutrient intake will be examined. 
The research will build on previous work to provide scientific evidence as to whether stocking density is important to layer welfare in free-range systems. It will also examine how environmental enrichment may interact with stocking density impacts on welfare status, in and out of the shed.
“First and foremost, the benefit of this work is to ensure industry best practice for free-range systems, and secondly, the development of systems where industry can guarantee that products are produced under the best-practice range conditions,” said Hitch.
“Effects on productivity are unknown, although reduction in cannibalism, and identification of key welfare indices, could reduce mortality and morbidity enough to improve overall feed and egg production efficiency. This work should also provide some scientific data that can inform development of future policy relating to free-range management.”

Safeway, the happy egg co. reach distribution agreement

Continuing its mission to make free-range eggs accessible across the U.S., the happy egg co. is once again expanding its distribution network with the addition of more than 200 Safeway locations in Arizona and Texas. Free-range on pasture eggs from the happy egg co.’s free-to-roam hens can now be found in more than 100 Safeway locations in Arizona and more than 100 Randalls and Tom Thumb stores in Texas.
“With labels still scrambling up the egg aisle, the happy egg co. continues to serve true free-range eggs from hens that are free to roam outdoors every day,” said Matt Riley, chief customer officer for the happy egg co. “Expansion into additional Safeway locations in the southwest region helps us meet the growing demand for food from humanely raised animals and free of antibiotics and hormones.”
the happy egg co. asserts it is the only 100 percent free-range egg brand with an animal welfare program that covers everything from living conditions to feed and the expertise of the caregivers.
“More than one-third of Americans are reading egg labels all wrong and it’s not their fault,” Riley said. “Cage-free is not always as nice as it sounds. Consumers can be confident that they are getting true free-range eggs with the happy egg co. Our hens go outdoors every day and roam on five acres of lush green pasture, offering 14 square feet per bird.”
Packaged in a sunshine-yellow carton made of 100 percent recycled and compostable material, happy eggs stand out for their color and clarity in the egg aisle. With expanded distribution to Safeway, Randalls and Tom Thumb locations, free-range eggs from the happy egg co. are now available in more than 3,000 grocery stores across the country.

World's largest free-range egg producer in egg processing expansion

Glenrath Farms, thought to be the world's largest free-range egg producer, has been granted planning permission to build egg processing facilities at its Millennium Farms site.
Located on the Scottish Borders, UK, Glenrath will build the facilities on a 1.9-hectare site in a disused quarry, close to its current egg grading and packing facilities. The company produces some 1.4 million eggs daily and the new 80-meter-long facility will respond to local demand for pasteurized eggs.
The investment will see the company add an additional 30 employees to its current staff of 200.

Queensland alters free range layer stocking density standards

The Australian state of Queensland has altered the legal hen stocking density for free range egg producers.
Free range egg producers can now stock up to 10,000 birds per hectare as long as they meet certain welfare requirements. The previous limit had been 1,500 laying hens.
Other states in Australia already allow higher stocking densities, and the change was made to allow Queensland's free range egg producers to better compete in the national egg market. The change, however, has not been universally welcomed.
There is an ongoing debate in Australia over what consumers understand by free range. Consumer group Choice claims that the stocking standards have been altered by "stealth" and has launched an on-line petition against the change.

Call for entries to Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards

Compassion in World Farming is calling on food producers across Europe to enter its sixth Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards.
The Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards recognize companies that demonstrate their commitment to meeting a set of species-specific welfare criteria, and Compassion in World Farming is still welcoming entries for the Good Egg, Good Chicken, Good Dairy and Good Pig awards.
2013 will see the animal welfare organization hold one combined awards event in Paris - rather than the usual two, one in London and one in Paris - as part of its initiative to drive farm animal welfare up the agenda across Europe. "By working with the largest food manufacturers, food service businesses and retail chains, we can achieve the greatest impact on farm animal welfare by raising baseline standards," said Director of food business at Compassion in World Farming Dr. Tracey Jones. "These companies make, serve and sell the vast majority of the food we consume and have it in their power to make a real difference to the lives of millions of animals reared for food each year."
Willem-Jan Laan, director global external affairs for Unilver, which has won the Good Chicken and Good Egg Awards amongst others, said that farm animal welfare has been one of Unilever's sustainable agriculture indicators since 2005. "We recognize that many consumers do have concerns about animal welfare and we take these concerns seriously," said Laan. "We have several ongoing initiatives which include free-range eggs in Hellman's mayonnaise."

German farms suspected of falsely labeling eggs as organic

Authorities are investigating the possibility that about 150 farms in northern Germany falsely claimed their eggs were from free-range chickens.
Prosecutors in the city of Oldenburg suspect the farms sold the eggs as organic or free-range when they didn't truly meet the labeling requirements. Regulations require a minimum of four square meters of space for each animal for a poultry farm to be able to sell its products as "free range." It has now emerged that several farmers kept more animals than permitted, selling the eggs for a higher price than they otherwise could because of the free-range status.
A spokesman for the country's consumer protection ministry told sources on February 25 that if suspicions are confirmed it would constitute a "large-scale fraud."

Dioxin found in German farm eggs

The chemical dioxin has been found in above-acceptable levels in the eggs of another German farm near Aurich in the state of Lower Saxony, according to the Lower Saxony state agriculture ministry.
The discovery is the latest in a string of eight other farms since April, where dioxin has been found in Lower Saxony and the neighboring state of North Rhine Westphalia. The cause of some of the outbreaks is thought to be free-range chickens living on earth contaminated by construction materials.
The currently contaminated farm holds 1,000 free-range hens. It has been sealed off while investigations are underway and its eggs cannot be sold, said authorities. The ministry has said there is no danger to public health.

UK egg packer buys out free range, organic egg business

UK-based egg packer Stonegate Ltd. has bought out Farmhouse Freedom Eggs Ltd., a company specializing in free-range and organic eggs.
According to both companies, the acquisition of Farmhouse, which will continue to operate as a stand-alone company, will expand their business dealings in Wales. “Our Welsh customer base is extremely important to us and this merger will enable us to strengthen our Welsh producer base and offer additional support to our farmers,” said Gerry Tuffs, co-founder and managing director of Farmhouse.
Stonegate had previously invested £5 million (US$8.3 million) into its Swansea, Wales facility.

Dioxin contamination hits organic egg farms in Germany, Netherlands

Nineteen organic egg farms in Germany and eight in the Netherlands have had the sale of their eggs embargoed due to dioxin contamination. Sales from the farms have been suspended for at least a week.
The contamination is thought to be the result of contaminated corn from the Ukraine used in feed. The grain is reported to have been processed in organic poultry feed by a number of companies.
Dioxin contamination of eggs hit the German headlines back in 2005, with calls for greater controls on free-range production, which may result in eggs with higher dioxin levels than those from caged birds.
Neither details of the level of dioxin contamination on the farms, or how the feed may have become contaminated are known. Investigations are ongoing.

UK consumers gravitate toward eggs from non-caged hens

Eggs from non-caged hens now make up the majority of UK egg sales by volume, according to data from Kantar Worldpanel. In the 12 months ending March 22, 2010, 52.6% of eggs sold were from non-caged hens, compared with 47.3% the previous year.
This change came despite a recessionary economy and the fact that free range, barn and organic eggs are more expensive than eggs from caged hens, animal advocacy group Compassion in World Farming noted in a press release. In monetary value, eggs from non-caged hens made up 66.4% of all egg purchases during the measurement period. That’s 4.2 percentage points higher than in the previous year.
Data provided by Kantar Worldpanel reveal that sales of free range eggs have risen to 56.8% of the value of the market from 52.3% in the previous year, making up 44.2% of the market by volume (up from 40.6%). Barn eggs, traditionally a small proportion of the market, have seen growth to 5.6% of the market by value (up from 4.7%), 6.4% by volume (up from 4.0%).
“The latest figures should encourage major supermarkets and others in the food industry to continue working towards higher welfare standards,” said Steve McIvor, director of food business at Compassion in World Farming. “There is a great opportunity for both farmers and retailers to make the most of growing consumer demand for higher welfare chicken and eggs.”