ACCC cracks down on 'free-range' egg producers

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is taking two egg producers to court after alleging that their use of the term ‘free range’ to describe their products misleads consumers.

WA producer Snowdale Holdings and NSW producer Pirovic Enterprises are accused of making false, misleading or deceptive representations on their egg cartons and websites. The ACCC claims that the companies misled consumers by implying that their free-range labelled eggs were produced by hens that had access to freely move on an open range most days or every day.

According to the ACCC, the hens were not able to move about freely due to a number of factors, including:

• The internal stocking density of sheds
• The conditions of the internal areas the hens are housed in
• The number, size and location of openings to outdoor area/s
• The time of day and how regularly the openings are opened
• The size and condition of the outdoor area, including shade, food, water and different vegetation and ground conditions
• The stocking density of the outdoor area

The ACCC also alleges that most of the hens producing these so-called free-range eggs did not move about freely on an open range on most days.

The ACCC says a free-range claim should be a representation that the eggs were produced by hens that move freely on an open range each day.

“The ACCC does not have a role in determining whether particular farming practices are appropriate and the ACCC is not debating the merits of cage, barn or free-range systems,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.

“The ACCC’s concern is simply to ensure that the labelling of eggs accurately reflect the particular farming practices of the producer and the expectations of a consumer making purchasing choices based on those representations.

“Credence claims such as free range, organic, place of origin or country of origin are all powerful tools for businesses to distinguish their products, but misleading consumers who may pay a premium to purchase such products damages the market and is unfair to competitors.

“These matters form part of a continuing investigation by the ACCC into free-range claims made by egg producers, which has involved the ACCC serving substantiation notices on a number of egg producers that supply eggs labelled as free range.”