Egg Carton Labels Meanings
Have you ever wondered about the different egg carton labels and what they mean? If you have backyard chickens, hopefully, you are getting plenty of fresh eggs. However, with molting season coming up then winter, you may have to supplement and buy eggs from the store. How do you know which ones are best? With all the different labels it can be confusing.
When purchasing eggs, look for the certified humane logo. This is the best possible scenario for commercial eggs. But what about the other egg carton labels?
No Real Egg Carton Labels – Just Description
The carton doesn’t really have a “label.” The packaging may say fresh eggs and the Grade but that’s it. These are produced by battery hens. Battery hens are kept in a large building about the size of a football field. They are in cages that are ½ square foot per bird, smaller than a sheet of paper. They aren’t able to move, stretch their legs or wings and there are no nest boxes. Many times food is withheld to force a molt. The conditions are so horrible that they are treated frequently with antibiotics because of disease and illness.
Cage-Free
This is just a step up from the battery cage. They are in the same type of building as mentioned above but there may be 100,000 birds in the building with no nest area or perches.
They do have access to the floor and a small door that they could go out. However, with so many birds in the building, most will not even realize there is a door. So the birds are not necessarily seeing any outdoor time. Lots of time, producers will find a dead bird but will have no idea how long it’s been there.
Organic
Organic doesn’t mean access to the outdoors. It strictly refers to what they are eating.
While what they are eating is important, don’t get it confused with free-range or pasture-raised. Organic means no hormones or antibiotics.
Plus to obtain an organic label, no pesticides can be used in the chicken area for the last 3 years.
Vegetarian
Just like organic, Vegetarian refers to what they are eating and not the conditions in which they are raised. Chickens are usually fed a grain/plant-based industrial feed that does not contain animal by-products.
Omega 3 enriched
Eggs that have the Omega 3 label are produced by hens whose diet has been supplemented with flaxseed. These eggs will contain more Omega 3 and be heart-healthy. Again, doesn’t mean pasture-raised or free-range.
Free-range
The free-range label means the hens have access to the outdoors for at least 6 hrs a day. There is a minimum of 2 sq feet of outdoor space per bird. This is better than the other labels but we recommend 10 square feet per bird. With this label, the chickens do get to eat bugs, worms, lizards, and other pests and get to “be chickens.” Also, free-ranging is great for the health of the bird.
Pasture-raised
The term pasture-raised is more of what you think when you hear free-range. Although there is no time frame defined on how much outdoor time is required, hens will enjoy 108 sq feet per bird (more than my girls). These are the optimum conditions for laying hens. Less stress, less illness, and just better!
Certified humane
If you can find eggs with this label, it’s the best. Certified humane have strict guidelines in order to receive this label. A few are:
- Feed and water every 8 yards
- Free access to feed
- Dust bath area
- Forage freely
- Clean litter
- Minimum of 6 hours of darkness
- One nest box for every 5 hens
- 6” of perch space per bird
- 1 ½ square feet of housing
- Farms are inspected annually
- Records kept for 3 years
You may also see all-natural and farm fresh. Not sure what they are trying to say here because eggs are “natural” and even an egg farm is “farm fresh.”
However, eggs on the shelf at the stores are not as fresh as eggs you would purchase at a farmer’s market. The date on the package, called the Julian date, can help you decipher how old the egg is. Generally, the first number is the plant ID number and should start with a letter. The second number is the date, which correlates to the day of the year (although, these could be reversed). The Julian date is a three-digit number. If the eggs were packed on January 1st, the number would be 001, and if December 31st, the number would be 365. The eggs in this carton were packaged on August 26th.
Grades of Eggs
The USDA has three grades of eggs, AA, A, B. The highest grade is AA. Each egg is inspected and the grade is determined by the quality of the inner egg and the condition of the shell. Grade AA eggs have thick whites, the yolks are round and the shell is clean with no defects. Grade A egg whites are not as firm as AA but the rest of the characteristics are the same. Grade B egg whites are thinner, the yolks are flatter than the other grades, and you may see meat spots. The shells could be stained. Most Grade B eggs are used to make egg products so you won’t normally see these for sale in stores.
There are no federal laws to protect animals that are raised for food from animal cruelty. If you can find the certified humane egg carton label, that is best but at minimum, I would buy pasture-raised where I know they are not confined in cages and are able to do chicken things, like forage, dust bathe, and peck.
Last winter, we didn’t have enough eggs so we researched and tried many different types of eggs. The happy egg company’s eggs have been the closest to our girls’ eggs that we have found. They’re a little more expensive than what you would purchase at a farmer’s market but in the best interest of all chickens, it’s worth it.
If this is your girl’s first year to lay, they should lay all winter. However, after the first year, your girls will molt (and not lay during that time). Plus, you will also see a decrease in egg production due to the shorter days. I’m going to freeze some eggs so I’m not having to buy any.
