EU to remove marketing limit during housing order

Published on : 12 Oct 2022

There will be no 16 week limit to the marketing of free range eggs during a housing order in the European Union, according to proposals tabled by the European Commission.

The draft Regulation published last month by the Commission repeals Commission Regulation (EC) No 589/2013 which originally required that free range eggs must be labelled as ‘barn’ after 12 weeks of housing; this was subsequently extended to 16 weeks. But following the worst Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) epidemic ever experienced in Europe, in which countries such as the Netherlands have housed free range hens virtually all year, the Commission has decided to act to save the free range sector from more harm.

 
The draft Regulation makes two changes to the rules on keeping free range hens in two respects: The first amendment makes clear that free range eggs can be marketed ‘notwithstanding (any) restrictions... imposed (by) legislation” such as a housing order. The second amendment allows solar panels on ranges, as outlined in yellow below:
  1. “hens must have continuous daytime access to open-air runs. However, this requirement does not prevent a producer from restricting access for a limited period of time in the morning hours in accordance with usual good farming practice, including good animal husbandry practice. Where temporary restrictions have been imposed on the basis of Union legislation, eggs may be marketed as ‘free-range’ notwithstanding that restriction. 
  2. open-air runs to which hens have access must be mainly covered with vegetation and not be used for other purposes except for orchards, woodland and livestock grazing. The competent authorities may authorise the installation of solar panels that are not conflicting with the animal welfare conditions as laid down in Directive 1999/74/EC;”
The removal of restrictions on marketing free range eggs during a housing order is a big step forward for EU producers. The question is whether Defra and the devolved administrations will want to align the UK rules with the EU rules to help GB producers (it is expected that Northern Ireland will align with EU rules anyway under the Protocol arrangements, to the benefit of producers there).
 
BFREPA and other industry representatives have been in discussions with Defra about changing the 16 week rules for the last couple of months. Attempts had been made by industry bodies to start the discussions much earlier and have been lobbying for it since last November.
 
In the last month Defra has brought three options to the table for industry consideration:
 
  1. Align the free range rules with the organic rules, as requested by the industry bodies
  2. Extend the 16 week rule to 20 weeks
  3. Do nothing
While pleased that Defra has – at long last - started consideration of the issue, BFREPA has discounted Options 2 and 3. Neither would have worked in 2022, when the housing order was in place for 22 weeks, so BFREPA has argued that Option 1 was the only one that offered an improvement on the current situation. Notwithstanding that, Defra made clear that the legislative timetable would not allow any change to become law before the end of the next HPAI season and that industry should prepare to have ‘barn’ packaging in place in case the 16 weeks was again breached this coming winter. 
 
Industry representatives were very disappointed to hear Defra say that the egg marketing rules are unlikely to be a priority for the new Government and that producers should prepare for more of the same, as in previous years, but with no overstickering. BFREPA would not accept more of the same this winter and will lobby for full alignment with the EU proposals.
 
It is likely that the EU will move much faster than Defra which will create severe trade distortions if GB governments don’t align with the EU rules in time. If the free range egg marketing rules aren’t aligned between the EU or N. Ireland and the GB countries it would lead to ‘free range’ eggs from housed hens from the EU being stocked on retailers’ shelves while GB free range eggs from housed hens are downgraded to ‘barn’. This would be intolerable for free range producers;  BFREPA would have no alternative but to let consumers and policy makers know the strength of their thoughts.
 
On 8 September, the Guardian reported on the looming problem: “There have been fears of a collapse of the free-range egg sector if producers could no longer label their eggs as free range, despite the extra costs associated with the meeting the standard, such as reduced stocking density. Last year, almost two-thirds of 11.3bn eggs produced in the UK were free range.”
 
It added: “Egg producers in the UK said it was essential that the UK government now followed suit to avoid British suppliers being undercut by EU imports. Robert Gooch, chief executive of the British Free Range Egg Producers Association, said: ‘It’s very necessary that the UK aligns with the EU, otherwise retailers will import eggs labelled as free range from housed hens in the EU in the event of an AI epidemic when there are none on the UK market.’
 
Discussions between industry representatives and Defra are continuing.