For Hélène Darroze, whose star ingredient is the egg, free-range farming also means quality eggs: “Consumers now regard the choice of ingredients and the quality of products as essential. St Michel’s new policy is therefore really in line with the times. I’ve always believed that know-how is important and must be combined with the use of good products.” she said.

St Michel’s commitment is all the more significant as it relates to eggs used as ingredients, which are not covered by regulatory labelling according to production method (shell eggs being coded 0 to 3 depending on whether they are from organic, free-range, barn or caged systems).

Hélène O’Donnell emphasised how important it is for food companies not only to commit to higher animal welfare standards, but also to communicate on their progressive policies. She explained: “When a food industry leader announces their commitment to animal welfare, it encourages the rest of the sector to follow their example.”

“That’s how the mayonnaise sector has evolved,” she added. “When leading brands Hellmann’s and Sainsbury’s switched to free-range eggs in the UK, a whole series of brands in France (including Lesieur and Amora, both Good Egg Award winners) and elsewhere followed suit. By communicating on their free-range egg policy, St Michel has shown real leadership in the industrial biscuit manufacturing sector both in France and internationally.”

Similarly, within a few days of McDonald’s announcing that all of their restaurants in the US and Canada will phase out the use of caged eggs by 2025, one of America’s main egg producers wrote on their Facebook page that cage-free production is “the future of the industry”, and many other companies are following suit.

St Michel in France goes free-range