The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has filed separate proceedings in the Federal Court against egg producers for misleading ‘free range’ claims.
The competition watchdog alleges that WA based Snowdale Holdings Pty Ltd, and NSW based Pirovic Enterprises Pty Ltd have engaged in misleading, deceptive or false representations through images and/ or wording both on their websites and egg cartons that suggest that their eggs were produced in free range conditions.
The ACCC alleges that the eggs supplied by both companies were produced by hens that were not able to move freely on an open range every day or most days due to high stocking densities, and/or the premises had restrictions regarding physical openings of the barns – contrary to the definition of ‘free range’ which both companies used in their marketing material.
“The ACCC does not have a role in determining whether particular farming practices are appropriate and the ACCC is not debating the merits of cage, barn or free range systems,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.
“The ACCC’s concern is simply to ensure that the labelling of eggs accurately reflect the particular farming practices of the producer and the expectations of a consumer making purchasing choices based on those representations.”
Consumer watchdog Choice has welcomed the ACCC’s decision to pursue the egg producers.
Choice Campaigns Manager Angela Cartwright said that the ACCC’s announcement further necessitates the development for an enforceable national standard for free range claims.
“Consumers are confronted with cartons awash with images of solitary chooks standing in sunlit pastures, but there’s no guarantee you’re getting what you pay for,” said Cartwright.
“The ACCC’s crackdown on dodgy free-range claims shows exactly why consumers paying a premium for supposedly free range eggs need a consistent and enforceable standard governing the use of free-range claims.”
The ACCC’s announcement follows a decision by NSW Fair Trading to support a national standard for free range claims following the assessment of a Super Complaint presented by Choice earlier in the year.
In its super complaint, Choice claimed that while close to 40 percent of the egg market is free range, many products labelled as free range do not meet the existing voluntary standard which sets a stocking density of 1,500 hens per hectare.
It also provided evidence that there is no relationship between standards and price, with a product that met the Model Code definition selling for less than a product with a declared stocking density 13 times higher than the Model Code limit.