The European Commission is working on a revision of the trade standards for eggs. By relaxing the rules, it will become possible to continue selling eggs from caged hens as organic or free-range eggs.
Due to the ongoing avian influenza in many EU countries, many poultry farmers have to keep their hens indoors. According to current regulations, eggs cannot be sold as free-range if the hens have been kept indoors for more than 16 weeks.
Not only in the Netherlands but also in countries such as France, Italy, and Spain, many hens have not been outside for more than 37 weeks due to fear of avian influenza infection. This period exceeds the housing obligation from last year.
A spokesperson for the European Commission confirmed to Nieuwe Oogst that the Agricultural Department in Brussels is indeed working on revising the trade standards. However, they tempered expectations regarding a swift adjustment. Discussions with the European member states about revising the regulation are still ongoing and are unlikely to be completed before spring 2023, it was stated.
Any revision will require the support of a large majority of the Agriculture Ministers as well as the European Parliament. So far, most EU countries remain cautious because they want to protect their own markets.
However, avian influenza is occurring more frequently, lasting longer and with greater intensity, leading to ongoing work — proposed by France and the Netherlands — on trials with vaccination. Traders and producers hope that a majority can now be found in favor of this.
The Dutch poultry sector has been advocating for several years for a different scheme for free-range eggs. In February this year, together with their European association, they renewed their call for a similar arrangement for free-range eggs as exists for organic eggs.
Previously, mainly the Netherlands and Germany advocated for such a scheme because both countries have many free-range hens, whereas other EU countries have very few. Minister Staghouwer has requested this several times in LNV ministerial meetings.
In recent weeks, the European Commission has consulted with EU countries to lift the 16-week limit. This would allow producers who must keep their hens indoors for more than 16 weeks due to veterinary restrictions (e.g., avian influenza) to still market their eggs as “free range.”