What All These Egg Labels Really Mean
Is growing without a cage better than organic growing? Are omega-3 eggs worth the extra money? Let’s take a look at the terms you’ll see on egg cartons.
- Organic – Chickens producing organic eggs cannot be kept in cages and must have “access” to the outdoors (in other words, an open door; the amount of open space not specified). They must also eat organic feed (grown using only approved organic pesticides and fertilizers) and must not contain ingredients made from chicken or mammals. To use this term, farms must be certified organic.
- Cageless – Chickens do not live in cages, but can wander around the house (large structure such as a barn) however they like.
- Free range, free roaming – chickens do not live in cages and must have doors leading outside. They may not spend much (or not at all) time outside, but eggs can be marked as “free to run” if they have access. If you need more information, Whole Foods eggs use a series of labels that indicate where the laying hens live: Cage Free Plus, Outdoor Access, Pasture Raised, Mobile Pasture Houses .
- Big, very large, giant is just the size of the eggs. “Medium” eggs are quite small for our modern eye, and most recipes assume your eggs are “large” ( 2 ounces per egg ) or larger. Claire Lower, our food and drink editor, says: “To be honest, I never really paid much attention to [egg size]. It probably makes a difference in sophisticated recipes. “
- Grade AA, Grade A, Grade B – Grade measures the “quality” of the eggs according to the USDA. Egg scores are lowered due to air cells, blood stains, or “severe yolk defects.” You can read the criteria here .
- Grazing in pasture, raising in pasture – there is no official definition for this, but the label means that chickens live outdoors most of the time.
- Omega-3. Pasture-raised eggs generally contain more omega-3 fatty acids than conventionally produced eggs. But usually eggs labeled omega-3 come from chickens who have received an omega-3 supplement in their diet (often made from fish or flaxseed).
- Vegetarian Food / Vegetarian Diet – Chickens that follow a vegetarian diet receive feed that does not include meat from farm animals. This is fine, but just remember that chickens are not vegetarian animals as they eat a lot of insects and worms when they are out in the pasture.
Terms that don’t really matter
Sometimes you’ll see labels that don’t make sense at all, or people may describe eggs (for example, on a menu) in a way that doesn’t quite accurately describe what’s going on.
- Grass Feed – Chickens can live on grass (for example, if they are raised in pasture), but
they don’t actually eat grass. [Update: They’ll be eating grass, as many chicken commentators have pointed out. But they will not eat primarily grass like cows.] Instead, they mainly eat insects and seeds. - Antibiotic Free – Antibiotics are sometimes prescribed to meat chickens to help them grow or prevent disease, but this is not a common practice among chickens laying eggs.
- No hormones, no added hormones – Federal laws do not allow growth hormones to be given to chickens.
- Brown – literally means they are brown. Brown eggs are no more wholesome or natural. Some chicken breeds simply lay brown eggs.