RSPCA Assured nicely used the hook of Pancake Day to send an email about making informed choices when buying eggs. It solved a mystery I’ve often pondered. Not which came first, the chicken or the egg, but what all those numbers mean that are stamped on eggs.
Organic, free-range, barn or caged?
This Shrove Tuesday, people across the UK will reach for the eggs to whip up their pancakes. National Geographic Kids says that an astounding 52 million eggs are used in the UK alone on this day. Shockingly, 20% of eggs in the UK still come from caged hens. However, according to RSPCA Assured, 60% of UK adults who’ll be making pancakes say it’s important that the ingredients come from higher-welfare farms.
In the UK, eggs must have a series of numbers and letters stamped on them. Cracking this code tells you everything you need to know about the egg’s origins and the conditions the hen was kept.
Deciphering the Egg Code
Farming Method Code
The first number is key. It tells you how the hen that laid your egg was kept:
0 – Organic: these eggs come from hens raised on free-range farms with access to outdoor space and organic feed.
1 – Free-range: hens live in barns and have access to the outside through openings called ‘popholes’. This provides them extra space and the opportunity to express their natural behaviours.
2 – Barn: hens have the freedom and space to move around within a building. Like on free-range farms, there are perches for roosting, as well as material to dust-bathe and scratch in and nest boxes. Some systems are ‘multi-tier’, providing additional above-ground levels for hens to use.
3 – Caged: Colony or so-called ‘enriched’ cages typically house around 60 hens. They limit the hens’ ability to move around and perform natural behaviours, causing high-stress levels and frustration.
Country Code
Next up is the two-letter country code of where the egg was produced. This is pretty easy to decipher. Don’t assume that all eggs in the UK are from here. Whilst the UK is 92% self-sufficient for eggs, it imports an egg-traordinary additional 1.4 billion eggs a year.1 There had to be one egg pun!
- UK – United Kingdom
- FR – France
- DE – Germany
- NL – Netherlands
Producer Code
After the country code, you’ll find a unique farm identification number. This allows you to trace the egg right back to its source. You can use the egg tracker at https://www.eggtracker.co.uk to find out its origin.
Best Before Date
While not part of the egg code itself, eggs often have a ‘best before’ (BB) date printed on them. This is typically no more than 28 days from when the egg was laid. On a separate note, I often go a few weeks past the BB date so long as the egg passes the ‘water float test.’
An Easy Shortcut: Look for the RSPCA Assured Label
If you don’t have time in the supermarket to scrutinise eggs, there’s a simpler way to confirm how ethical they are: look for the RSPCA Assured logo on the egg box.
Eggs carrying this label mean the hens lived on free-range farms or in large barns that meet nearly 700 stringent welfare standards. Here, hens have perches, nest boxes, and enrichment items like straw bales and pecking objects. These are all designed to allow them to express their natural behaviours. RSPCA Assured farms are regularly inspected to ensure the RSPCA’s higher welfare standards are met. Crucially, RSPCA Assured farms never use cages.
Crack on
Next time you’re reaching for eggs – whether for pancakes, omelettes, or a fry-up – take a second to check the code or find the RSPCA Assured label. It’ll ensure that your eggs come from farms that prioritise hen welfare.
- In 2021, the UK imported an extra 1.4 billion eggs – https://www.nfuonline.com/media/coeb3iju/trade-export_poultry.pdf ↩︎
