NB Assume all egg products listed in ingredients are from caged systems unless otherwise stated. Liquid or powder egg may be imported from outside the EU and therefore may be from barren cage systems. Any products sold from outside the EU are likely to be produced using eggs from barren cage systems.

Overview of standards

EU Egg standards

EU legislation includes a ban on forced moulting and the use of barren cages for laying hens (the ban on sale of barren cage eggs only covers whole eggs and therefore liquid egg imported from outside the EU may be from barren cages and can be sold in UK supermarkets). UK production is in line with EU legislation with the main addition being that hot blade beak trimming is prohibited (infra-red beak trimming is typically used). There are countries that go beyond EU legislation and have banned enriched cages: Luxembourg, Austria and Germany (by 2028).

By law, all eggs must be labelled with a number which denotes the production system in which the hen has been kept.

0 = Organic

Hens must be kept with access to a range (4m² per hen of space outside) and up to 6 hens/m² indoors (different for mobile housing) with flocks no greater than 3000
Litter must be at least a third of the floor area and a suitable substrate for dust bathing must be provided
There must be at least 1 nest per 7 hens
Vegetation on the range and hens must be outdoors for at least a third of their life
Hens are to be provided with 18cm of perch space each
Routine beak trimming is prohibited, but can be performed under a derogation, so it is still commonly practiced.

1 = Free-range

Hens must be kept with access to a range (4m² per hen of space outside) and up to 9 hens/m² indoors with no limit on flock size
Litter must be provided (250cm² per hen) and a suitable substrate for dust bathing must also be provided
There must be at least 1 nest per 7 hens
Hens are to be provided with 15cm of perch space each
Beak trimming is permitted up to 10 days old and commonly practiced. This practice is banned in Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Austria, Denmark and Germany.

2 = Barn

Hens are kept indoors all their lives unless they are given a wintergarden (an aviary structure that is attached to the shed and allows more space and natural light). Wintergardens are not commonly used in the UK but widely used in Northern Europe.
Hens are kept at up to 9 hens/m² in the shed with a suitable stocking density in wintergardens
One third of the useable area must be litter (at least 250cm² per hen)
At least 15cm perching space per hen
At least 1 nest box per 7 hens
Beak trimming is permitted up to 10 days old and routinely practiced.

3 = Enriched Cages

Hens must have 750cm² of space of which 600cm² is usable (at least 30cm wide with a floor slope of no more than 14%). This provides a space allowance of 13 – 14 hens per m². Cages can have 60 to 80 birds.
Friable litter should be provided but there is no specification on amount or space
Head room of at least 45cm over the useable area
Hens must have 15cm of perching space
A nesting area must be provided but there is no specification on the space per hen
Beak trimming is permitted up to 10 days old and routinely practiced.

Certification schemes in the UK

Soil Association:

In line with EU Organic and UK legislation
Birds must have access to the range by the age of 12 weeks

RSCPA Assured:

In line with UK legislation
Pullets must be reared in the same type of system they will be laying in
Provision of ramps, perches and environmental enrichment such as pecking subtracts and straw bales.
RSCPA Assured free range (standards referred above,
plus):
- Birds must have access to the range within 3 weeks of arrival on the farm (at 21 weeks of age at the latest)
- Shelter/shade must be provided with an area of at least 8m² per 1000 birds at a distance no greater than 20m from popholes