Steve - an informative piece we found courtesy of the NY Times
It used to be, an egg was an egg.
Now they can be cage free and free range, vegetarian and omega-3 fortified, organic, “certified humane” or “American humane certified.” The incredible, edible egg is becoming unintelligible.
Some claims on egg cartons are regulated by the federal government, some by the states and some not at all. Some affect consumers’ health, some touch upon ethics and some are meaningless.
All purport to describe how the hens were raised, or what they were fed, or what extra benefits their eggs might provide.
So, what do these terms mean?
First, the basics: egg grades — given by the United States Department of Agriculture or other agencies — depend mainly on the firmness of the whites. AA eggs hold their shape in the pan a bit better than Grade A eggs. (Grade B eggs, for processed foods, are rarely sold in stores.) Egg sizes, like large or jumbo, are based on the weight of a dozen eggs. Then things get confusing.
The easiest way to ensure truth in labeling is to look for cartons bearing the National Organic Program emblem (a circular seal with “U.S.D.A.” over what looks like a field), any of the animal-welfare-related labels described below, or the U.S.D.A. shield (which looks like an interstate highway sign and which indicates the eggs’ grade). The organic and animal welfare programs require that producers be audited by third-party certifiers. The U.S.D.A. shield, which can be found on about 35 percent of eggs in the market, means that the agriculture department is auditing the eggs’ producers at least once a year to verify that their claims are true.
Definitions for some other common terms on egg cartons are below. Keep in mind that the agriculture department’s rules apply only to eggs with the department’s shield. For eggs that are not a part of its grading program, either state rules apply or the use of the phrase is unregulated.
How Birds Are Raised
CAGE FREE The agriculture department says this means that the chickens were kept out of cages and had continuous access to food and water, but did not necessarily have access to the outdoors.
FREE RANGE The agriculture department says that in addition to meeting the cage-free standards, free-range birds must have continuous access to the outdoors, unless there’s a health risk present. There are no standards, though, for what that outdoor area must be like. (A concrete lot could do.)
PASTURE-RAISED There is no regulation of this term, which implies hens got at least part of their food from foraging on greens and bugs, which adherents say can improve flavor. Some studies have found that pasture-raised eggs have more nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, vitamin E and beta carotene, and less saturated fat and cholesterol.
ANIMAL CARE LABELS Four main terms indicate the level of care hens received.
For eggs from chickens that live in the sort of utopia conveyed by the images on most egg cartons, look for “animal welfare approved.” Available in limited markets, it is a new label by the Animal Welfare Institute that is given only to independent family farmers. Flocks can have no more than 500 birds, and chickens over 4 weeks old must be able to spend all their time outside on pesticide-free pasture with a variety of vegetation. They must have access to dust baths and cannot have their beaks trimmed (a practice on crowded egg farms) or be fed animal byproducts.
“Certified humane raised and handled” hens and “American humane certified” hens are kept cage free, though not necessarily outdoors.
“Certified humane raised and handled” is administered by Humane Farm Animal Care, the only animal welfare program audited each year for reliability by the Department of Agriculture. It is endorsed by many animal welfare organizations. It has requirements for, among other things, ventilation, density and the number of perches and nesting boxes that must be provided. It requires that each hen have at least 1.5 square feet of space (324 square inches).
The “American humane certified” label was created by the American Humane Society. Its standards, similar to those of “certified humane raised and handled,” prohibit forced molting (reducing feed to increase egg production) and require that hens have at least 1.25 square feet of space (225 square inches).
“United Egg Producers Certified,” formerly “Animal care certified,” is presented by the United Egg Producers, America’s leading trade association for egg farmers, which has standards for caged and cage-free layers. The group adopted the new name under pressure from the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau, which agreed with complaints they had received that “Animal care certified” misled consumers by implying more humane treatment than the hens were getting. Even with the new title, many animal welfare advocates say those standards are too low. The standards permit hens to have as little as 67 square inches of space, less than a letter-size sheet of paper, which is 93.5 square inches.
What Birds Are Fed
ORGANIC Any product with the “U.S.D.A. organic” emblem must meet the standards of the agriculture department’s National Organic Program. Among the program’s requirements: birds must be kept cage free with outdoor access (though the time and the type of access are not defined), they cannot be given antibiotics (even if ill) and their food must be free from animal byproducts and made from crops grown without chemical pesticides, fertilizers, irradiation, genetic engineering or sewage sludge. If organic eggs do not have the program’s emblem, they may be part of an independent or state-run program, and it may take some research to determine the program’s standards.
VEGETARIAN-FED For eggs that bear a U.S.D.A. grade shield, “vegetarian-fed” means the eggs came from hens raised on all-vegetarian feed. Hens are not naturally vegetarian, though; they enjoy eating grubs, bugs and worms. While there’s not a substantial nutritional difference between these eggs and conventional eggs, vegetarian eggs appeal to consumers who are turned off by some of the animal byproducts that can be included in conventional chicken feed, like feather meal, chicken litter, pork and cattle byproducts and “spent hen meal” (ground up dead hens).
NO HORMONES The Food and Drug Administration has not approved any hormone products for egg production, so this term is meaningless.
NO ANTIBIOTICS The Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible for food safety and oversees antibiotic use in poultry, does not allow routine use of antibiotics but does not define or regulate the term “no antibiotics.” The only way this claim is verified is if the eggs are U.S.D.A. graded (which means that hens did not receive therapeutic antibiotics but may still have been treated with antibiotics, if ill) or if the eggs are a part of the National Organic Program (which bans antibiotics entirely after chicks are 3 days old, even if ill). NATURAL, NATURALLY RAISED It means whatever the producers want it to mean because eggs in the shell are not a processed food.
FERTILE The term is unregulated but implies that the eggs came from hens that were likely to have been fertilized because they were uncaged and raised near a rooster. Some consumers like the idea of these more natural living conditions; others adhere to unproven beliefs that fertile eggs are more nutritious. Fertile eggs are stored at temperatures too cold for chicks to develop.
What’s in the Eggs
OMEGA-3 Eggs claiming to have extra omega-3 fatty acids, which are believed to improve heart health and mental acuity, come from hens whose diets include good sources of omega-3s, like flaxseed or algae. Producers in the U.S.D.A. grading program are audited to make sure the layers’ diets have been fortified and that omega-enriched eggs do not get swapped out for cheaper ones. The F.D.A. can audit producers’ claims about omega-3s but typically does so only if there has been a complaint. Unless the eggs claim to contain higher levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) omega-3s, a form that is thought to be more important for cardiovascular health, the omega-3s are probably primarily in the alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) form.
PASTEURIZED This term is regulated by the F.D.A. and refers to eggs heated to temperatures just below the coagulation point to destroy pathogens. These eggs are recommended for recipes that call for raw eggs or for people susceptible to illness who prefer runny eggs.
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