The European Commission said at the Agriculture Council on Monday 21 February that it would not relax the current rules on the marketing of free-range eggs in times of avian flu, despite a request from the Netherlands, supported by several countries.
Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski said that the Commission was examining the issue in the context of the ongoing review of marketing standards. “In the meantime, we should not ignore what consumers understand when they see the label ‘free range’: the animals can go outside. Therefore, for the current epidemiological wave, it is not possible to lift the legal requirements”, the Commissioner replied.
The Netherlands, supported by 11 countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal and Romania), called for a derogation from the 16-week shelter rule for poultry whose eggs will be marketed as ‘free-range’. “In many Member States, this 16-week period will soon come to an end, while the risk of avian influenza infection in poultry flocks remains high”, they argued (https://aeur.eu/f/ge ).
Welfare of laying hens in Italy. In addition, the Food and Veterinary Office of the IUE (FVO) carried out an audit to assess the effectiveness of official controls in Italy to ensure the protection of the welfare of laying hens at all stages of production. “Italy has a system in place to ensure the welfare of laying hens throughout their life cycle in all production systems”, according to the report, which was published on 22 February.
One comment from the experts, however, is that the documented procedures relating to the requirement for the nest to be a separate area for egg laying are ‘incoherent’.
Link to the relevant FVO report: https://aeur.eu/f/gd (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)