A RULING on free-range eggs will set a precedent for future cases across Australia after a company was fined for misleading and deceiving consumers over claims its eggs were free range.
The chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it was a profoundly important judgement, because it ruled that hens have to be able to go outside each day, in order for their eggs to be classified as free range.
The Federal Court fined Pirovic Enterprises $300,000 after finding the company had incorrectly marketed its eggs as free-range, yet its hens were unable to move freely on open ranges.
The Court heard hens described as 'free to roam in green pastures' were actually packed into barns at 12 to the square metre.
The ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said it had taken the company to court because of its marketing on its cartons and website and this would enforce the establishment of a trade practices compliance programme.
“This will set a precedent for future cases and I would say to all free-range producers they either need to meet this new standard or stop using the term free range,” Mr Sims said. “If not, they will find the ACCC will be in touch with them.”
Mr Sims said the ruling is a win for the consumer because people deserve to know what they are buying.
Consumer group Choice has applauded the court ruling on free range eggs, saying it sets a precedent.
Tom Godfrey, from Choice, says producers need to look at the ruling and see that it defines 'free range' as meaning layer hens are getting outside almost every day.
With 40 per cent of Australians buying free range eggs, Mr Godfrey says state and federal ministers have to work out the stocking density.
"The national consumer affairs department and NSW Fair Trading are sitting down to develop a national information standard,” he said.
"That will be once and for all the clarity that's required. So when we walk into the supermarket, we want to reward producers for investing in free range infrastructure.”
Commenting on the ruling, Boyanup egg farmer Brian Tucker said currently there is no national standard for what constitutes a free-range egg.
“Certification standards are set by a range of industry bodies and are only voluntary requirements,” he said. “Consumers expect free range to mean that the birds are able to go outside every day.”
Mr Tucker said he is a relative newcomer to free range egg farming, having taken over his business just over a year ago.
“I look on my first year as a great learning curve and take just one step at a time,” he said. “I love my chooks and listening to their chatter assures me they are happy hens.”
His love of the farm and ever increasing demand for greater production has prompted him to upgrade and extend his shed to include automated drinking fountains and feeders, plus a conveyor belt that prevents the hens from damaging their eggs.
Mr Tucker admitted that one of the down sides of being free range was that it presented many challenges, including the loss of at least a hundred chickens a year when the birds go outside his 20-acre property and get taken by foxes, but concluded it was all worthwhile and his preferred choice of lifestyle.
The recent moves of larger supermarkets and McDonalds away from cage bird eggs has prompted much discussion on the many choices open to consumers, as well as the numerous definitions relating to hen housing facilities, from barn-fed to free range.
Looking at egg farming from a RSPCA perspective, their concern is for welfare friendly conditions that, amongst other things, ensure adequate space for hens to scratch, flap their wings and have access to water and nutrition.
