Eggs in processed food and in gastronomy
For several years, FOUR PAWS has been campaigning to improve the catastrophic conditions faced by battery hens. There have been several successes: for instance, barring minor exceptions, battery cages are banned in Austria. However across the EU, only the “old-style” cages are forbidden. From 2012, new cages are permitted. These cages include apparent „improvements“, which actually make conditions for the chickens worse. The mandatory labelling designed to inform people about the source of their eggs only applies to shell eggs – all other foods that contain eggs are, to date, exempt from the labelling regulations. FOUR PAWS is campaigning to change this.
THE FACTS
Forms of keeping
 There are four categories of keeping laying hens. A number stamped on each egg shell explains where the egg comes from:
The number “3” identifies the eggs as cage eggs. Despite the ban on conventional battery cages, the new “enriched” cages remain. These cages do not represent any significant improvement for the chickens. Battery cages have been banned in Switzerland for the past two decades; in Austria, a transitional period ends in 2019. In Germany and other EU member states, battery cages remain a reality in the “enriched” form.
In the barn system (number “2”), up to 6,000 hens are kept on several levels in large buildings, usually without daylight. This form of keeping leads to similar behavioural problems as those caused by battery cages, such as cannibalism and feather picking , due to a similar density of chickens (18 hens per square meter).
Organic and free-range egg production methods (“0” and “1” respectively) have a significantly lower density, and the animals have access to the outdoors. The intensive keeping conditions can still result in problems such as the loss of feathers.
What happens to male chicks and why are laying hens slaughtered after just a year?
 Unabhängig von der Haltungsform werden die auf Lege-Produktivität gezüchteten Küken zunächst nach Geschlecht sortiert: Beim so genannten „Sexen“ werden die männlichen Tiere gleich nach dem Schlüpfen lebend in einen Schredder geworfen oder vergast. In Österreich werden pro Jahr mehr als 6,3 Millionen junge Hähne auf diese Art getötet (2009) – diese Zahl ist nicht weit von der Gesamtbevölkerung des Landes entfernt. Populäre Rassen wie „Lohmann Braun“ haben ihre optimale Legequote für nur ein Jahr; danach sind sie ausgemergelt, oft krank und federlos und werden geschlachtet. Sie werden zu Suppenhühnern verarbeitet, die unter anderem in Fertigprodukten oder in Suppenwürfeln enthalten sind.
Die natürliche Lebenserwartung von Hühnern beträgt je nach Rasse zehn bis zwanzig Jahre.
Products containing eggs
 Whether it is supermarket products such as noodles, spreads or sweets, bakery products like cakes or meals in restaurants: the mandatory labelling of egg production methods ends the moment the egg becomes an ingredient. Product labels only clarify whether eggs have been used in the production process – where these eggs come from remains a mystery. Most industrial food products do not use fresh eggs in shells, but rather liquid or solid eggs. The latter is a powder; liquid egg (“pure egg white”, “pure egg yolk” or “whole egg”) can be purchased according to the size of the business in cartons, plastic bottles (gastronomy) or by the truckload (bakeries). Eggs are almost never necessary.
Pasta: Authentic Italian noodles should never contain eggs. Quality products are produced using durum wheat. The inclusion of an additional binding agent is gratuitous. This does not apply to so-called „egg noodles“, which are made using cheap wheat and do require the eggs as an adhesive. The eggs used in the production are generally “dirty”, broken or out-of-date eggs which cannot be sold through retail outlets.
Bakery products: Eggs in dough are no more than liquid, fat and starch, elements present in flour and, for example, margarine. The inclusion of eggs could only be justified if used as a raising agent. However, industrial production uses various forms of baking powders for this purpose; the industry can therefore not justify using cage eggs rather than free-range eggs for cost reasons, as using no eggs would be cheaper than using cage eggs.
The Campaign
Unfortunately it has so far not been possible to find a political solution for the labelling of foodstuffs containing eggs in Austria, despite a motion supported by all five major political parties. The economic powers within the Christian Socialist party (ÖVP) have so far been powerful enough to block the measure which would mean a significant improvement for animal welfare and for consumers.
Advances were made in the retail industry: the two major chains Spar and Rewe now only use eggs from barn or free-range production in their own brands, and have labelled the products accordingly. The baking mixtures offered by Alnatura (dm) are produced without eggs, and companies such as the bakery product manufacturer Ölz have switched to the use of barn eggs.
As well as lobbying the political and economic sectors, FOUR PAWS concentrates on informing the public about these issues. The campaign continues on several levels, and the goal is to achieve a mandatory labelling system which clarifies which egg types are used in products.
What you can do
 As with all products, supply rises to meet the demand. Cutting back on egg consumption is the only effective way to avoid becoming part of a business which causes animal suffering in all forms of production.
The excessive consumption of eggs is a luxury of the age. So many finished products contain eggs, and consumers are therefore unaware of the amount of eggs they consume. It is therefore worth examining product packaging: only those products which clearly list free-range, organic or barn eggs as ingredients can be relied on to include precisely these types of eggs. If the ingredients don’t include a categorisation, consumers must assume the products contain battery cage eggs.
Managers in the catering and hospitality industries and hotels frequently purchase the cheapest eggs available to increase profit margins. These eggs are unfortunately generally cage eggs purchased from other countries. Consumers should therefore ask what types of eggs are used in the food preparation. To be on the safe side, customers can ask to see a raw egg from the kitchen, to make sure that the eggs used are free-range. Finally, even if the breakfast soft-boiled or hard-boiled egg does have a “0” or “1” stamp on it, this does not mean that the eggs used in other meals are free-range or organic.
--------------------------
At a glance!
Unlike producers of whole eggs in shells, producers of packaged foodstuffs that include eggs are not required to inform the customer where the eggs come from. As with the campaign to improve keeping conditions for laying hens, political resistance continues to oppose improvements in labelling laws.
However, responsible consumers do have access to product ranges which voluntarily declare the kinds of eggs used. As no keeping method is completely free of animal suffering, one should consider reducing one’s consumption of eggs as much as possible.
On the internet
www.youtube.com -> „sexing chicks“ (search)
www.four-paws.org -> „Campaigns“ (click) -> „Eggs“ (click)
Egg replacements for the food industry: www.futurefood.org
|
|
|
|
|
International
Europe
Austria
Bulgaria
Germany
Hungary
Netherlands
Romania
South Africa
Switzerland
United Kingdom
