SA to develop free-range egg standard

South Australia is proposing a new industry code to define the stocking density of hens for producing ‘free-range’ labelled eggs.

John Rau, the South Australian Minister for Business Services and Consumers, said the government is proposing a voluntary industry code that will allow those who adhere to it to display a ‘South Australian Laid, Free Range Egg Code Compliant’ label.

Animal welfare group Humane Choice welcomed Rau’s actions.

“I believe this industry code will actually bring clarity to the free-range confusion and those producers that are meeting consumer expectation will stand out from the crowd,” said Lee McCosker, the Chief Operating Officer of Humane Choice.

“Consumers will then be able to decide if they are willing to pay a little more for what they want or accept eggs grown under a more intensive operation. The choice will be made a lot clearer.”

Currently, there is no federal legislative or regulatory definition to control the free-range egg market. Queensland is the only state to have passed a law setting a stocking density of 1500 birds per hectare in the outdoor area of a free-range system for eggs labelled as free-range.

According to Rau, “such an individual state approach exposes a state’s industry, as an individual state cannot restrict producers from other states (who are not required to adhere to the same rules) from selling eggs in their state”.

The South Australian Government has called for submissions on the proposed standard. Submissions can be emailed to AGDCBSReforms@agd.sa.gov.au.

The closing date for submissions in Friday 19 July 2013.