From Monday (March 21), free range eggs will no longer be available in supermarkets. This comes after an outbreak of bird flu, which means that farmers had to move all their chickens indoors.
The “largest ever outbreak of avian flu” hit the UK this winter, according to government officials, with more than 80 reported outbreaks in England.
Now, eggs sold in shops will have a sticker or label stating that they are “barn eggs”, which is the name given to eggs produced by hens permanently housed indoors.
Barn eggs will be sold in some stores for the first time in years including stores like Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, which have policies to sell free-range eggs only.
But the RSPCA has reassured the public that eggs marked with the ‘RSPCA Assured’ label still abide by high animal welfare standards “whether the hens are raised outdoors or indoors”. In other words, “barn eggs” do not come from “battery hens” – the term used when hens are kept in cages. Hens in barns still have space to move.
According to figures from data firm Kanta, free-range eggs make up for around 70% of all eggs sold in shops.
If the animals are kept inside for longer than 16 weeks, regulators will usually strip eggs of their “free-range status.” Previously, this was 12 weeks but was extended in 2018.
But new laws were brought in last November to ensure farmers kept their chickens indoors throughout the “largest ever outbreak of avian flu” and farmers were given a “grace period” around labelling. This has now ended.
The UK is “still seeing a number of bird flu cases both on commercial farms and in backyard birds right across the country,” UK chief veterinary officer Christine Middlemiss said in a statement.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs added that now the grace period for free-range eggs is over, these eggs must now be marketed as “barn eggs”.
“When the current measures are lifted, eggs will go back to being free-range,” said The British Retail Consortium
“Shoppers may notice different labels on egg packs explaining that the eggs have been laid by hens temporarily housed to protect their health and welfare.”
The National Farmers’ Union’s chief poultry adviser, Aimee Mahony added: “Once the risk levels have reduced and the housing measures have been lifted by Defra, birds will be able to go outside again.”
The government has provided guidance for “disease control zones” to be put in place to prevent the disease from spreading further. This restricted the movement of poultry and materials associated with their keeping.