Avian Flu update – 21.03.22
Temporary change in labelling of free range eggs
From Monday 21st March 2022, following advice from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), all eggs from free range hens must be labelled as barn eggs.
This is due to the restrictions that were put in place in November 2021, where a housing order, where birds were to be housed inside, was established with a 16 week grace period to protect hens from the threat of Avian Flu. However, from the 21st of March 2022, whilst this housing order still remains, it will now mean that any eggs packed can no longer be graded as free-range.
As a result of this, there will be new requirements for labelling these products from this date of Monday 21st March 2022 and any affected eggs laid and packed on or after this date will have an additional statement on their packaging to inform customers of the situation. These can be sold on the original product code however.
Feel free to access a copy of the Free-Range-Eggs notice on the hyperlink below:
information taken from Bidfood Avian Flu Update 21.03.22