Free range eggs are all laid at 5 star chicken resorts, right? Hens primp on banana lounges sipping long island iced teas and getting pedicures.

Wrong.

There are no mandatory standards on free range farming in Australia. There are voluntary standards, allowing bird densities ranging from 750 birds per hectare to 20,000 birds per hectare. In the latter case, that's 2 chickens per square metre of open range, which seems a bit cosy.

The problem is that egg demand is really high. If we force the farmers to impose lower stocking densities then there will be fewer free range eggs in the market and we'll all have to buy barn laid eggs. That's no good for the chickens, or your conscience.

Last year the ACCC stepped in to try to sort out the mess. It prosecuted two free range egg producers, Pirovic and Snowdale, over their free range claims. The Federal Court has just issued a consent judgment in the Pirovic case.

Ultimately Pirovic was misleading because it represented that its hens could and would move about freely on an open range. Because of the number of hens in the barns and the nature of access in and out of the barns, Pirovic admitted that it was unlikely that most birds would roam outside on most days. It agreed to $300k in fines and promised to implement a compliance program.

The judgment is interesting because the misrepresentations didn't arise just from Pirovic labelling its eggs as free range. It was a combination of that and its claims that birds roam freely on green pastures, and that they could travel in and out of the barn at free will. This kind of claim is common on free range products, where producers paint a picture of their hens' luxurious living conditions.

It's these marketing claims going beyond simple 'free range' that are likely to get producers in hot water. Clever adjectives, pictures and descriptions tend to create unrealistic consumer expectations. So really, the producers only have themselves to blame.

If you ask us, the answer is transparency. If industry and the government can't agree on a national standard then at least require the producers to provide information on bird conditions and stocking densities so consumers can make informed choices.

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