Concerns over brands using eggs from caged hens
Animal welfare charity, FOUR PAWS, has urged shoppers to check labels before buying cakes, biscuits and other confectionary, to check that the eggs used are not from caged hens.
The charity says that whilst many brands whose products are sold in UK supermarkets have pledged to use free range eggs in their products, many still do not.
Spokesperson for FOUR PAWS, Angelique Davies, says: "Around half of hens in the UK are still housed in cages. If it doesn't specify on the ingredient list that the eggs are free-range or barn, you can assume they are likely to have come from cages.
"We're really making headway on this issue; with growing numbers of retailers and manufacturers pledging to use only cage-free eggs, there's plenty of choice for consumers to shop ethically."
A poll commissioned by the charity reportedly found that 69 per cent of people to respond said they thought all food products containing eggs should be labelled to show whether the eggs came from caged or cage-free birds.
The charity has voiced concerns that the natural behaviour of hens is restricted in a caged environment, and is calling for the egg labelling laws to be extended so that companies using eggs from caged hens in their products will have to make that clear on the label.
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
