The scandal over conventional German dioxin-contaminated animal feed
(very similar to the analogous chicken and ham scandal in Belgium in
1998) has led to a significant increase in the consumption of
organic products in Germany, to the point that for some products the
national production and distribution system is no longer
able to meet demand. A survey by the Emnid Institute
conducted in recent days found that almost one third of consumers no
longer trust conventional products and buy only
organic ones. Those turning their backs most firmly on
conventional farming and livestock products are
people over 65, 44% of whom intend from now on
to buy only organic products.

The organic production method
Monitored and
certified by an internationally recognised system, organic
is a guarantee because it does not involve the use of
animal meals, chemical additives or synthetic drugs
in animal feed. This characteristic makes it possible to
avoid the current dioxin contamination issue at source, thereby allowing consumers to choose
from safe and guaranteed products.
Italy is Europe's leading producer of organic eggs and, according to FederBio's estimates, around 15% of
Italian production is exported to Germany, with an increase
of more than 70% in recent weeks. According to the
Federation, this significant percentage increase is largely due to the creation of new laying hen farms
by major players in the national poultry sector
who had not previously launched organic production
programmes; the situation in the German market is therefore
having a positive knock-on effect on Italy's organic sector.

The egg label is the
shell

From 1 January 2004, a system of egg marking came into force in Italy, making it compulsory to indicate the
origin and farming method used, in order to guarantee
transparency along the journey from henhouse to table and enable
consumers to make informed purchases. EU legislation on
eggs was an important step forward in responding
to the demand for transparency from businesses and consumers (according to
surveys, 80%) who want to be able to know the origin of
the food they buy, especially in the face of the ongoing food
scandals involving animal products. Following the origin labelling of
beef to address the mad cow crisis,
the legal obligations to display signs showing the
origin, variety and category of fruit and vegetables, and
the commitment made by Decree to indicate on the labels of commercially sold milk the place of origin of the farms supplying the
fresh milk used, the obligation of
farm-to-table labelling for eggs had also arrived.

How to read the label

The labelling and marking of eggs includes
a code with the producer's identification number, the farming
method (free-range, barn, caged) and the country of origin (IT
for Italy). It is optional to also indicate the feeding
system on the packaging.

The highest mark… is
0

Every single egg must have its own traceability —
an indication of how the hen that laid it lived and what it ate.
Every egg bears a code stamped with food-grade ink — a numerical character from 0 to 3
(0=organic; 1=free-range hen with 2.5 sq m of space
available; 2=barn hen in a shed with nine hens
per sq m of space; 3=caged hen). Then two letters denoting the
country of production (IT: Italy); three numerical characters
identifying the Istat code of the municipality of the production site; two
letters indicating the province and numerical characters indicating
the farm.

The most important thing is easy to remember. It is the
first number, which indicates the farming method used for the
laying hens:

0 = from organic farming: by law, with double checks,
hens reared in full respect of their natural characteristics.

1 = free-range

2 = barn-reared

3 = cage-reared

So the first digit is fundamental: zero or one are
to be preferred. It is also worth emphasising the distinction between
"free-range" = 1 and "barn-reared" = 2. "Barn-reared"
simply means that the laying hens live in sheds with
concrete floors covered in rice husks, in overcrowded conditions of nine hens per square metre, lit by
artificial light, and they will never see the sun.