new egg labelling and stamping requirements in Western Australia may spread to the rest of the country

Western Australia seems to be moving towards introducing effective labelling and stamping requirements for eggs. WA Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan described the system of labelling of eggs and traceability as a ‘joke’. She said “WA is the only State that doesn’t have a proper egg traceability system, there is no regulation and we need to modernise that and introduce more discipline.” Commercial Egg Producers Association of WA president Ian Wilson said an industry-led committee would work with the State Government to deliver tighter standards and procedures. He said while most eggs were stamped on farms before sale and it accurately reflected where they were laid, a weakness in the system meant the eggs could be bought from elsewhere and stamped as though produced on that farm. Mr Wilson said better traceability standards, identifying the origin, flock and system, would also help in situations such as the recent Eastern States recalls for salmonella. Unfortunately egg stamping in the eastern states does not provide adequate traceability, because exemptions mean that many eggs are not stamped on farm.