Free Range or Value eggs?

Rabbit

Hi everyone, firstly thanks to Tracey Smith for all the very useful info about eggs and meat. Very interesting stuff!

I have been buying organic free range eggs from the supermarkets and also Marks and Spencers Free Range, £2.28 for 12. Part of the quote on the box is below:-

'free to roam on open grassland on specially selected farms, assuring animal welfare and food safety. Specially chosen for their quality and natural yolk colour. Birds are fed a vegetarian cereal based diet free from artificial yolk colourants'

Inside the box there is another statement, part of it is:-

"....highest standards of animal welfare, hens have access to open grassland, ample space to lay eggs, dust bathe and perch. They are also vaccinated against salmonella."

Their website is also worth a look as it details all the foods and background info.

http://www2.marksandspencer.com/foodmagazine/ProducingFoods/farmingProducts/eggs.shtml

the link above should ( if I've done it right!) should take you to the page on eggs.

Hope this helps. I am trying out organic eggs now from a local box delivery scheme, they are more expensive but I am making savings elsewhere by buying 'value' and hope this offsets the costs.

Tracey_Smith

Hi Rabbit,

A great link there to M&S and I must say, when I interviewed them during my recent tour, their commitment to offering customers a clearly marked range of organic products was impressive.n Their staff were also well versed in the products offered and what 'organic and free range' were really all about.

Of course, we have a long way to go I feel, before the prices are in line, however, it is a good start. They have plans to expand their organic range considerably and this too is progress.

Whilst I realise M&S will still remain 'high end' of the shopping budget for many items, it is nice to know they are moving with the increasing demand and the times.

Incidentally, I did try a bottle of their organic wine, which came in under £4.00 and was delightful - and no thick head in the morning either

Curry_Queen

Tracey_Smith wrote:

Incidentally, I did try a bottle of their organic wine, which came in under £4.00 and was delightful - and no thick head in the morning either

Talking of organic wine, I have some here from Tesco - Organic One Australia Chardonnay - which is very palatable, so much so I found I'd drunk most of the bottle in an evening chattering away on here

At £2.79 a bottle you just can't go wrong

Rabbit

I asked M&S the following question last night:-


"Please can you let me know if your free range eggs and chickens are free
from growth hormones and antibiotics. Thanks."


and I got this reply today:-


"Antibiotics are only used if a bird is ill or there is a threat of
disease then veterinary surgeon responsible for the care of the turkeys
is permitted to use antibiotics to treat the bird.

It is also illegal to administer any growth promoting hormones to any
animal used for food production in the UK and throughout the EU. To
ensure this does not occur, Marks & Spencer commission tests on all our
meat products at an independent laboratory to ensure they do not contain
any residues of hormones or veterinary medicines."


I wasn't aware that growth hormones were illegal in UK and EU, so thought I would pass this on and hope it helps you all.

I must say that their eggs are really nice, they are the nicest i have tasted and I would recommend them. If you try them it's worth getting a dozen as it works out cheaper and they usually have offers on.

jordylass

Through Bigbarn, I found a 'fairly' local free range egg farm, when I got up there they were a really friendly family and they said they provide Free Range to M&S and Tesco, I asked them about Organic eggs, she said it wasn't possible for them as occassionally the birds do need prescriptive treatment, which ties in with what Rabbit was told. Anyway I'm not complaining at £2.50 per tray.

Grumpysally

Tracey_Smith wrote:

A great link there to M&S and I must say, when I interviewed them during my recent tour, their commitment to offering customers a clearly marked range of organic products was impressive.n Their staff were also well versed in the products offered and what 'organic and free range' were really all about.


Incidentally, I did try a bottle of their organic wine, which came in under £4.00 and was delightful - and no thick head in the morning either

Tracey, have you had dealings with the co-op supermarket on your travels?
Are their ethics all they proport to be?
I did notice that they seemed to be the first to mark their non free range eggs as 'from caged birds'
Thanks, Alison

Loadsabob

Am I right in thinking that waitrose ONLY stock free range eggs? Forgive me if this is totally wrong, but we don't have a Waitrose here (Cornwall!!), and I'm sure I remember hearing this in one of their adverts?...I wonder, if that's so, whether they only use free range eggs in their read-made products?

Tracey_Smith

Hi AlisonW,

I have not spoken to anyone there so cannot comment at this stage. However, my research has shown that most of the corporates have reacted very positively when questioned by 'Joe Public' - Rabbit shows this example well.

Pitch right in with direct questions and see what they come back with. It is a global arena these days with the Internet and I think it puts additional pressure on them all to 'cough up' with the truth!

Best of luck with your research,

Hi Loadsabob,

I cannot comment on Waitrose - drop them a direct email with your question and a couple of 'If that is so', further questions and see (1) how long they take to respond (2) what they have to say on it.

It will be interesting to hear your findings.

Kind regards to all and KEEP ASKING THE QUESTIONS GUYS!

We are the consumers and we have every right to know the TRUTH!

Lara

Organic eggs every time for me - just makes me feel better eating them and also they always look better :snow_grin .

freyaluck

same for me I always buy organic eggs and milk, I would buy all organic but just can't afford it. Can't wait until I get a house at least then I should be able to have my own hens and grow my own veg and with the pennies I save will hopefully be able to buy other organic groceries.
I can't stand the thought of battery hens cooped up and the poor dairy cows being over milked evey day, so much so a lot suffer from malnutrition.