More genuine free range farms needed

Chaos in the egg industry is creating wide consumer interest in finding genuine free range eggs and driving shoppers out of supermarkets. Demand for free range eggs has far exceeded supply, leading to widespread mislabelling and deception by some producers. Egg producers in Western Australia are concerned about current prices paid to them by big retailers. They says that cheap cage-free eggs being sold by Coles are 'unrealistic' and unfair. Coles stopped selling caged eggs in Western Australia in March and have said there will be a nationwide phase-out of caged eggs by 2023. Home-brand barn laid eggs are on shelves for $3 per dozen, which Commercial Egg Producers Association of WA president Ian Wilson said did not meet the cost of production. Clear consumer demand for free range eggs has generated a strong increase in the number of people thinking about starting their own free range egg business. A good starting point is reading the eBook on starting a free range farm available on the Freeranger Eggs website Detailed information is available on the Freeranger Club downloads page about things like shed requirements, food safety, egg packaging and labelling. When deciding to set up a free range egg farm, take the time to plan it properly. Find out the zoning of the land and talk to your local Council planning department about their requirements. It’s also worth contacting the State Department of Agriculture. You can find on-line resources in most states. In Victoria, contact: http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/farm-management/business-management/permits/guidelines-for-rural-planning-applications. Once that is sorted, talk to your Council Environmental Health Department about any specific requirements they have before you get underway. Details: www.freeranger.com.au

Food Safety inspections

We had our food safety inspection by Bass Coast Shire Health Department yesterday. As our current registration is valid until December 31, I assume that this inspection and certificate will take us through to the end of 2019. It's unfair that so many dodgy backyard egg sellers get away with not being registered and fail to comply with any standards. This week, the new ludicrous free range standard came into effect and now, those of who comply with regulations have to clutter up our labels with more rubbish - our outdoor stocking density. We have a maximum of 40 hens per hectare while the standard allows 10,000 on each hectare.

Egg labelling confusion

The are strong moves to tighten up the rules on egg labelling in Australia - but there is still a long way to go before we get to a degree of honesty which helps to rebuild consumer confidence. We are not alone, very similar issues affect the industry overseas - particularly in the US and Europe.  Here's a link to some info which demonstrates the problem.http://www.fix.com/blog/egg-health-production-and-labeling/  http://www.fix.com/blog/egg-health-production-and-labeling/
Itr is hoped that here, Ministers for Fair Trading and consumer Affairs will approve a national 'free range' standard when they meet next month.

Farm gate sales

We are now offering eggs to customers at the farm gate. We have set up a large cool box just inside the front gate. So even though we have a biosecurity sign on the gate advising 'no unauthorised entry'. It's OK to enter just to buy eggs - as long as people don't proceed any further.

Farm gate sales are a growing part of our business

Demand has been increasing steadily with growing revelations from the ACCC about the  consumer deception organised by major egg businesses. As a result of their actions, consumers no longer trust labels and logos. Consumer interest is widespread in what is happening. Our Facebook 'likes' topped 1000 today  - largely driven by media reports of the industry scam.  Thank you Australian Egg Corporation Ltd. If you wish to like our facebook page, visit us at  https://www.facebook.com/FreerangerEggs
Apart from gate sales, our eggs are available at Angel's Health Foods, Cowes, Corinella General Store and Farmers Markets at Churchill Island on the fourth Saturday every month and The Old Cheese Factory at Berwick on the second Saturday.

Egg stamping should help to boost consumer confidence

Stamping eggs with a farm identification code is part of a national food safety scheme which is being implemented differently in each State. In Victoria, the State Government delayed the compulsory introduction of egg stamping until November 25 this year.

The Government says it will exempt producers with less than 50 hens from the new requirements. Some producers claim that the whole concept is a farce and will do nothing to improve food safety or traceability.

Egg stamping will help to solve the egg substitution rort which has been rife for years but probably first came to general notice in Victoria during 2007 with a high profile case when a company was fined for labelling eggs as organic when they were from conventional farms.

In 2012, a NSW barn egg farm was fined for packaging its eggs as free range and a South Australian egg seller was fined for putting cage eggs in free range cartons.

Also in 2012 an inspection processes in Victoria revealed that a farm was packing and selling eggs from dubious sources interstate and labelling them as free range eggs produced on that Victorian farm.

If all eggs are stamped with a unique number which shows the farm on which they were laid, egg substitution will hopefully become a thing of the past.

Consumers may still have to contend with labels which can be misleading, with pictures of hens frolicking on green pasture when the reality is far different. But a recent Federal Court decision which resulted in a $300,000 fine for a NSW egg farm which falsely labelled its eggs as free range, should give consumers a little more certainty when they buy eggs.

Accreditation means different things to different people. Consumers rightly expect it to convey a message of credibility about a particular product, but to many businesses it's simply a marketing tool designed to allow them to make claims which increase their profits.

A logo can be a valuable asset if it is trusted by consumers. But it's value is destroyed if it is shown to be meaningless. Any accreditation program is only as good as the willingness of the accreditation body to maintain its standards and defend its logo.

Unfortunately there is no free range certification standard in Australia which is worth the paper it's written on.

Hopes run high for ACCC action on egg industry

ABC Radio in Victoria ran this today in its rural news programmes.  It was a follow up piece to the news that the ACCC has asked for major egg farms to supply details of their trading actions which may have been anti-competetive.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-11/nrn-egg-accc/4950912 

Egg labelling is a shambles in Australia

Egg labelling laws and accreditation processes are a shambles in Australia because there is no legally recognised national definition of the term 'free range'. The Queensland Government has relaxed its regulation limiting stocking densities to 1500 hens per hectare on free range farms to 10,000 per hectare.

The NSW Government seems set to reject a Truth in Labelling Bill which has passed the Upper House and the SA Government is introducing a 'voluntary' code for the industry in that State.

Egg substitution has been rife for years but probably first came to general notice in Victoria during 2007 with a high profile case when a company was fined for labelling eggs as organic when they were from conventional farms.

In 2012, a NSW barn egg farm was fined for packaging its eggs as free range and a South Australian egg seller was fined for putting cage eggs in free range cartons.

Also in 2012. An egg farm in WA was caught with a huge overstocking rate which breached its planning conditions. This farm was accredited by a national egg quality scheme but despite annual audits which required compliance with planning conditions the farm remained accredited. The accreditation was only withdrawn once the breaches became public and legal proceedings began.

In Victoria in 2012 inspection and audit processes revealed that a farm was packing and selling non-accredited eggs from dubious sources and that colouring additives were being used in poultry feed – breaching particular standards.

Labels can also be misleading, with pictures of hens frolicking on green pasture, which frequently don't resemble conditions on the farm.

A questionable 'organic' accreditation body also exists in Victoria which is not recognised by mainstream organic bodies and which does not have a credible inspection process – but claims that the products which its members sell are certified organic. AQIS, which registers organic certification bodies in Australia, is apparently only involved with export industries – so it has no jurisdiction over domestic 'organic' claims.

Accreditation means different things to different people. Consumers rightly expect it to convey a message of credibility about a particular product, but to many businesses it's simply a marketing tool designed to allow them to make claims which increase their profits.

Similarly, a logo can be a valuable asset if it is trusted by consumers. But it's value can be destroyed if it is shown to be meaningless. Any accreditation program is only as good as the willingness of the accreditation body to maintain its standards and defend its logo.

That is why it is so disappointing that standards are ignored by accreditation bodies. Even using things like egg yolk colourings should be disclosed to consumers. Everyone expects cage farms to use them to enhance yolk colour but it is neither needed nor necessary on a genuine free range farm with low stocking densities and plenty of green feed.

To maintain ethical standards and credibility, all certification bodies need to defend their standards and take action against suppliers who break the rules.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has asked many egg producers to justify the claims made on their packaging – claims such as 'free range'.

Hopefully this will start a 'clean-up' process.

What's in a name ?

It's not just the hidden use of colouring additives by many egg producers that is causing waves in the industry, nor the arguments about densities and beak trimming hens on 'free range' farms.  Now one of Australia's largest producers is coming under scrutiny in South Australia for its labelling.

Apparently it is using the name 'Barossa' on eggs which may not produced in that state.

Here's an article from today's Adelaide Advertiser:

A VICTORIAN firm selling eggs under the name Barossa Ridge Farms is being investigated by the state consumer watchdog for potentially breaching labelling laws.
The eggs are being sold in the Barossa Valley but consumers are concerned they may not originate in the world-famous wine region.
Clever marketing - including a large picture of vines on the carton lid - indicates that the eggs are produced in the Barossa but the fine print shows that might not be true.
These eggs are sold by Melbourne-based Farm Pride Foods - formerly the Victorian Egg Marketing Board - and labelled in the fine print as product of Australia.
A carton of the eggs was bought by a shopper at a deli in Tanunda last week and given to Opposition agriculture spokesman David Ridgway over concerns the labelling is misleading.
"I have spoken to the company which said it can't guarantee the eggs are from the Barossa or even from SA," Mr Ridgway said.

He has invited the public to contact him with other misleading advertising examples in order to name and shame offending companies on his website.
And if the Opposition is elected to government next year, he pledged to review labelling laws to provide better protection for South Australian consumers.
Minister for Consumer and Business Services John Rau said he was "outraged" by the labelling.
"I've referred this matter to Consumer and Business Services - as a regulator of Australian Consumer Law - to see whether or not this is an example of misleading or deceptive food labelling," he said yesterday.
The Barossa branch of Regional Development Australia said the misleading use of the region's name to market products is an "issue that has been raised before".
"When you have a brand which comes with as much value as the Barossa Valley, there always will be people looking to exploit it," the Barossa branch chief executive Anne Moroney said.
Barossa Food - representing local food producers - said "with Barossa eggs you would expect the chooks to come from the Barossa Valley".
"It is hoodwinking consumers because they may not recognise the eggs are not from the Barossa," Barossa Food committee member Jan Angus said. "I implore the government to ... help us."

Egg stamping delayed in Victoria

The Victorian Government is giving egg producers two extra years before they have to comply with new Australia-wide egg- stamping requirements.

The delay has been welcomed by some egg producers but is condemned by others who saw the introduction of stamping as a good way to provide real traceability for eggs. It could help to restore confidence in an industry which has become dominated by shonky operators.

One of the arguments which some producers use is that the units cost around $30 000. But that is for sophisticated automatic ink jet systems installed on grading and packing machines. Simple 30 egg stampers are available at minimal cost to stamp a tray of eggs at a time, stampers for six at a time can be bought and individual stampers are available for very small operators.

The introduction of egg stamping will help make all eggs traceable through the supply chain - another step in eliminating egg substitution. Most egg producers support stamping - as long as it applies to everyone who sells eggs and is not just confined to those of us who do things properly! Backyarders generally have no understanding of food safety issues and are a real danger to the health of consumers. If they sell eggs, they should have to comply with the same regulations as the rest of us.

Victorian Agriculture and Food Security Minister Peter Walsh said the delay would help Victorian farmers.

"It would give them more time to plan for and install the costly equipment needed to apply an identification stamp to every single egg, as mandated under new national food standards." Mr Walsh said.

He announced the special measure as part of the Primary Industries and Food Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 currently before Parliament.

"Whole supply chain food safety traceability of eggs from the farm to the kitchen is already provided by labels on cartons," Mr Walsh said.

"In the kitchen, a carton will provide greater traceback than rummaging in the garbage sorting through cracked egg shells." The legislation provides for the implementation of the new national egg food safety standards in Victoria.

But there is a two-year exemption from the requirement for farmers to individually stamp their property identification details on each egg shell.

"Asking farmers to purchase new eggshell-inking machines is a significant cost imposition with no proof it will improve food safety," Mr Walsh said.

There is still no indication how the actual identification mark will be determined for each farm. For example will members of the Free Range Farmers Association be allowed to use the Association logo and their farm roll number? Or will the Government allocate a number to each farm?

Misleading labels deceive consumers

There's an excellent article about ethics, integrity and honesty in today's Weekly Times
http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2012/04/11/467871_latest-news.html

Well done Les !