Clear up the confusion about free-range eggs
Cage-free or caged? What’s the difference?
There appears to be confusion on the egg shelves of some Michigan grocery stores about which eggs are sold as “cage-free” and which are not.
On Wednesday, the office of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel called on grocery stores to clear up any confusion and label which eggs come from caged hens and which do not.
Eggs sold as “cage-free” mean that the hens were not kept in cages and, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), “are allowed to roam freely in a building, room or enclosed area with unlimited access to feed and fresh water during their production cycle.”
But the picture of chickens frolicking outdoors is not always rosy. According to Consumer Reports, the chickens “can be kept indoors, often in cramped conditions.”
SpartanNash informed
The Attorney General’s Office has sent a letter to Bryon Center-based SpartanNash and CEO Tony Sarsam citing a recent poll indicating that “SpartanNash customers may be confused – in part due to egg carton labeling – about which eggs come from free-range chickens.”
The aim is to help consumers make an “informed decision” about buying eggs, the letter says.
The letter was signed by Jason Evans, director of the Attorney General’s Division of Corporate Oversight, and cited a report from a Positive Sum Strategies survey that pointed to “widespread confusion” about egg labeling in SpartanNash stores.
Positive Sum Strategies surveyed more than 1,000 SpartanNash customers over four days in early June. The survey results suggest that “a disconnect between consumer sentiment regarding animal-friendly products and their purchasing decisions can be attributed to consumer confusion about labeling.”
“Due to egg carton design and marketing claims, many SpartanNash customers believe that eggs come from cage-free hens,” the report said.
SpartanNash operates 147 stores under various names, including D&W Fresh Market, Family Fare, Family Fare Fresh Market and VG’s grocery stores in nine states, including Michigan. According to its website, SpartanNash’s Whole Foods distribution distributes products to more than 2,100 independent retail locations across the country.
Positive Sum Strategies’ report also mentioned SpartanNash’s 2016 announcement to “sell exclusively free-range eggs by 2025.” According to the company’s 2022 ESG (Environmental, Social Governance) report, that announcement was retracted because “customer demand for free-range eggs has been weak across our service area and some government regulations require the sale of conventional eggs alongside free-range eggs to participate in government-funded food assistance programs.”
An email from the Free Press to SpartanNash seeking comment was not returned Friday.
In search of accountability
The letter calls for clear signs to be placed in SpartanNash stores “to help consumers identify exactly which eggs are cage-free and which are not, so they can make informed decisions about how to spend their hard-earned money.”
Josh Balk, CEO and founder of the Accountability Board, welcomed the letter.
The Accountability Board, Balk says, invests in and owns shares in companies like SpartanNash to ensure accountability.
“This is a dramatic step forward when it comes to the treatment of chickens, product quality and food safety,” Balk said. “Especially when food prices are causing chaos for families, people should not have to fear being misled into buying a certain product when it is actually a different one.”
In March 2023, Dana Nessel sent a similar letter to the CEO of Kroger Co., also urging the chain to post clear signage, citing a survey that showed Kroger’s “marketing of cage-free eggs is confusing and misleading at best.”
A new Michigan law set to take effect in 2025 will ban the sale of eggs from caged hens. Michigan joins several other states that have passed cage-free chicken laws. Other states that have already joined in include California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Rhode Island.
In many grocery stores, consumers are confronted with a dizzying array of labels on egg cartons. Here’s what they all mean, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which inspects the labels on-site at farms twice a year.
How to decipher egg cartons:
Here are the egg terms according to the American Egg Board, Consumer Reports and the U.S. Department of Agriculture:
Cage-free
Chickens that lay these eggs are not kept in cages or pens and are allowed to roam freely in a building, room or open area and have unlimited access to food and water. The USDA does not require chickens to have access to the outdoors.
Raised on pasture
Laid by hens roaming and foraging in a well-maintained pasture. The USDA does not recognize a labeling definition for free-range eggs because no standards are established.
Free range
Laying by hens that are not kept in cages and have constant access to the outdoors and unlimited access to food and water during their laying period. The outdoor area can be fenced and/or covered with a net-like material.
Organic certified
Laid by caged or free-range chickens that are raised on certified organic feed and have access to the outdoors.
No antibiotics
Laying hens were raised without any type of antibiotics.
No hormones added
Chickens are prohibited from receiving hormones, so this condition is no different than eggs sold without hormones. According to the USDA, if this is stated on a label, it must be followed by a statement that “federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones.”
Enriched with Omega-3
These eggs are laid by chickens whose diet includes flaxseed, algae and fish oil, among other things, to increase their omega-3 content.
Enriched with vitamins
Eggs from chickens whose diet may include alfalfa, rice bran and seaweed to produce eggs with more vitamins B, A, D and E.
Contact Detroit Free Press food writer Susan Selasky with food and restaurant news at [email protected]. Follow @SusanMariecooks on X (formerly Twitter). Support local journalism and become a digital subscriber to the Free Press.
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