You have got to be joking… which part of “free-range” is so damn hard?
The Australian Egg Corporation should win the ‘Dumb-Ass Award’ for lodging the most ridiculous application of the century.
I want my eggs to come from hens that wander around a field regardless of cost. Eggs from 20,000 hens per hectare should be labelled as Couped Range Eggs and sold at the apropriate cost.
ACCC seeks comments on proposed new egg standard
THE introduction of a controversial new definition of freerange eggs could be delayed after the consumer watchdog decided to call for public comments on the standard, which animal welfare and consumer groups strongly oppose.
The Australian Egg Corporation, which represents most egg farmers, lodged an application with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to register a new certification trademark, which would allow egg producers to keep as many as 20,000 hens per hectare and label them as free range on egg cartons.
The egg corporation had hoped to introduce the new standard and use the trademark by the end of next month. But amid widespread criticism of the standard, the ACCC has written to ‘‘ interested parties’ ’ asking them to comment on the egg corporation’s standards before it considers the new trademark.
An ACCC spokesman said the decision to call for public comments was made on a ‘‘ case-by-case’ ’ basis and depended on the nature of the trademark and whether it would raise any consumer issues.
The head of the egg corporation, James Kellaway, has warned free-range eggs would soar to at least $10 a dozen if farmers did not embrace its planned new standard.
But Lee McCosker, a spokeswoman for Humane Choice, said the group complained to the ACCC more thana year ago about the egg corporation’s plans to dramatically increase stocking densities.
“When we learnt that the egg corporation had applied for a certification trademark we appealed to the ACCC to reject the application because of the unacceptable proposal to increase stocking rates and the lack of consultation with the egg industry,’’ Ms McCosker said.
Phil Westwood, president of the Free Range Egg and Poultry Association, said there was ‘‘ considerable anger’ ’ within the egg industry and warned that the egg corporation was ‘‘ more interested in meeting the agendas of the major supermarket chains and corporate operators rather than the many legitimate farmers across Australia”.