Friday, October 04, 2013

Woolworths to ban cage eggs from its shelves

The supermarket giant Woolworths is set to announce that it will phase out the sale of cage eggs in its stores by 2018. It seems like a draconian step that will send shock waves through the industry.

Surely consumers should have a choice - as long as the eggs are labelled honestly? If the egg farms meet the provisions of the Model Code they should be able to sell the eggs to anyone who is prepared to buy them. Apparently that won't be Woolworths.

One of the Woolworths' brands, Macro uses a maximum chicken stocking density of 1500 birds per hectare but Woolworths’ Select free-range eggs has a stocking rate of 10,000 per hectare - that is a consumer con.

This just makes it more obvious that there has to be a legal national definition of the term 'free range'. Leaving it up to the industry and a couple of grocers doesn't treat consumers fairly.

Details from The Age:
http://www.theage.com.au/national/woolworths-to-phase-out-all-battery-hen-eggs-20131003-2uxhf.html

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