06.09.2009

Doubts about the egg industry's ability to police its producers have been raised after a Sun-Herald analysis found the total of free-range layer hens in the country were incapable of producing the total of free-range eggs sold each year, and as many as one in six eggs labelled free range on retail shelves were cage or barn-laid.
Despite providing annual figures on the number of free-range eggs sold, the Australian Egg Corporation has admitted it has no way of knowing how many free-range layer hens exist.
The Bureau of Statistics' Agricultural Commodities noted the number of chickens for egg production fell 3% in 2007-08. At the same time the Egg Corporation was reporting a 48.2% rise in sales of eggs labelled free range.