Free Range and Stale

AUSTRALIA - A recent test on free-range eggs has revealed that over a third are officially stale in compliance with an international freshness scale.
calendar icon 30 June 2008
clock icon 2 minute read

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"brands in the big supermarkets may not be meeting your expectations."
Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn

According to the Heraldsun, a test of 650 free-range eggs by consumer group Choice returned a fail grade for 36 per cent of the products, branding them "weak and watery".

It also found that many of the eggs on supermarket shelves were produced on a dramatically varied, often industrial scale that would disappoint those who bought them, the news agency reported.

Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn said the results called for new guidelines for the egg industry, and stricter controls on the use of the term "free-range".

"Well over half the hens described as free-range are housed in huge sheds, may never go outside and their eggs may come off conveyor belts," Mr Zinn told reporter Tamara McLean.

"If you're buying free-range eggs because you believe in animal welfare, the brands in the big supermarkets may not be meeting your expectations."

View the Heraldsun story by clicking here.
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