{"id":10415,"date":"2025-02-27T20:29:30","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T20:29:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theparentsocial.com\/?p=10415"},"modified":"2025-02-28T10:30:47","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T10:30:47","slug":"making-more-ethical-egg-choices-cracking-the-code","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theparentsocial.com\/making-more-ethical-egg-choices-cracking-the-code\/","title":{"rendered":"Making More Ethical Egg Choices: Cracking the Code"},"content":{"rendered":"\n


RSPCA Assured nicely used the hook of Pancake<\/a> Day to send an email about making informed choices when buying eggs. It solved a mystery I\u2019ve often pondered. Not which came first, the chicken or the egg, but what all those numbers mean that are stamped on eggs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organic, free-range, barn or caged? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This Shrove Tuesday, people across the UK will reach for the eggs to whip up their pancakes. National Geographic Kids<\/a> 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<\/a>, 60% of UK adults who\u2019ll be making pancakes say it\u2019s important that the ingredients come from higher-welfare farms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s origins and the conditions the hen was kept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deciphering the Egg Cod<\/strong>e<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Farming Method Code<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The first number is key. It tells you how the hen that laid your egg was kept:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0 – Organic:<\/strong> these eggs come from hens raised on free-range farms with access to outdoor space and organic feed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 – Free-range:<\/strong> hens live in barns and have access to the outside through openings called \u2018popholes\u2019. This provides them extra space and the opportunity to express their natural behaviours.<\/p>\n\n\n

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2 – Barn:<\/strong> 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 \u2018multi-tier\u2019, providing additional above-ground levels for hens to use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 – Caged<\/strong>: Colony or so-called \u2018enriched\u2019 cages typically house around 60 hens. They limit the hens\u2019 ability to move around and perform natural behaviours, causing high-stress levels and frustration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Country Code<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a><\/sup> There had to be one egg pun! <\/p>\n\n\n\n