Egg marketing standards – removal of 16-week grace period

The SI (Statutory Instrument) for the amended legislation was laid on the 21 November 2024 and will now be debated in both Houses of Parliament.

Despite the delay from its 4 November intention, it is expected the amendment should still come in to force in England in January 2025 as planned.

Read: House of Commons votes and proceedings, 21 November 2024

The NFU is aware that the legislation set to be laid on 4 November has been delayed. We are seeking to understand the new timescales and the impact on when the new egg labelling requirements will take effect.

As part of a range of measures announced to provide certainty to poultry businesses, the government confirmed that legislation to bring in new egg labelling requirements will be laid on 4 November 2024. It is expected to take effect in January 2025.

The changes will mean that free-range eggs can continue to be labelled as such throughout mandatory avian influenza housing measures.

NFU poultry board chair James Mottershead said: “We have previously welcomed the government’s announcement to amend existing legislation which will change the free-range egg labelling requirements in England when mandatory avian influenza housing measures are implemented.

“With an implementation date now announced it means that by the new year any additional burden for egg producers will be minimised including practical challenges and excess costs.

Alignment across GB policy is crucial

“The NFU has consistently called for a GB aligned policy on this issue and we urge the Welsh Government to share the outcome of its recent consultation as soon as possible to ensure that the new rules apply to all farmers resulting in a more level playing field with European producers.

“We also support the government proposals to bring in similar measures for the labelling of free-range poultry meat and we will respond to the recently launched consultation.

“These moves will be welcomed by the sector as they ensure that poultry producers are not left at a competitive disadvantage.”

The new government has today confirmed the amends to the existing legislation will be introduced through a statutory instrument later this year, allowing free range eggs to be labelled as such throughout mandatory housing measures.

Responding to the news, NFU Poultry Board chair James Mottershead said: “I’m very pleased to see that the government is making amendments to existing legislation which will change the free-range egg labelling requirements when mandatory avian influenza housing measures are implemented.

“The removal of the 16-week derogation period has been one of the NFU’s four key asks for avian influenza policy since October 2022 and therefore it’s great to see that, during stressful times for poultry producers, any additional burden will now be minimised. This includes practical challenges and the excess costs associated with the previously required labelling changes.

“This move will be welcomed by producers and we hope to receive a further positive announcement for producers in Wales shortly, following the completion of the ongoing consultation with the Welsh Government. Our overall aim for alignment across GB policy on this issue is crucial to ensure that producers are not left at a competitive disadvantage.”

Amends to free range egg labelling requirements during AI outbreaks confirmed

28 August 202428 August 2024

Following significant lobbying from the NFU and NFU Cymru, the Welsh Government has launched a consultation on removing the 16-week grace period for free range eggs, and removing the 12-week grace period for free range poultry meat.

The proposed changes would allow free range eggs and poultry meat to be labelled as such for the full duration of mandatory Avian Influenza housing measures.

The consultation runs for six weeks and will close on 9 September 2024.

NFU members are encouraged to respond to the consultation at: GOV.WALES | Free range egg and poultry meat marketing standards.

The survey should take around 10 minutes to complete.

Lobbying effort

Following consultation with industry, Defra and the Scottish Government have already announced a removal of the 16-week free range grace period for eggs produced in England or Scotland. The changes proposed by the Welsh Government would bring egg marketing regulations in line with this.

NFU chief poultry adviser Aimee Mahony welcomed the news: “Earlier this year Defra committed to removing the 16-week grace period for free range status, allowing eggs to be labelled as free range during mandatory avian influenza housing measures in England and Scotland.

“This commitment was made following significant lobbying from the NFU. However, our ask has always been for amendments to the egg marketing regulations to apply across GB.

“Therefore, we were disappointed at the lack of Welsh Government involvement but we are now pleased to hear that our continued lobbying has been fruitful as the Welsh Government has launched a consultation on both egg and poultry meat marketing regulations.

“It is important for the devolved governments to be aligned on this issue due to the national operation of poultry supply chains and we will continue to feed in members’ views to the government on this issue.”

At the 2024 Farm to Fork Summit at 10 Downing Street, the government announced that it will remove the 16-week derogation period for the labelling of free-range eggs produced by hens that are under mandatory housing orders due to avian influenza.

This will mean that producers will no longer need to change how eggs are labelled during housing orders, saving farmers from costly labelling requirements.

This consultation has now closed.

The NFU welcomes Defra and the Scottish Government’s proposal to remove the 16-week grace period for free range status which would allow eggs to be labelled as free range for the duration of any mandatory avian housing measures in England and Scotland.

The NFU strongly supports the proposed legislative change, but is disappointed that the Welsh Government has not joined with Defra and the Scottish Government in consulting on these proposals.

The NFU is urging Defra to work with the devolved administrations to implement the changes across the whole of Great Britain as soon as possible to provide much needed certainty and improve producer confidence in the free-range egg sector.

The proposed change would also bring domestic legislation in line with marketing regulations in the European Union, ensuring a more level playing field with European egg producers.

Northern Ireland’s marketing regulations are already aligned with the EU, so these proposed changes would also ensure a level playing field within the UK.

Protection for producers

It is the NFU’s view that housing measures should be evidence-led and introduced as soon as Defra’s veterinary risk assessments indicate that housing is needed to protect poultry and captive birds.

Adopting the proposed changes to legislation will create better alignment between avian disease control strategy and marketing regulations. This will allow for more streamlined decision making when introducing and lifting mandatory housing measures in the future.

Under the current legislation, egg producers hold the majority of the risk associated with the loss of free range status after the current 16-week period expires and they are dependent on the goodwill of their customers to maintain their free range premium if eggs have to be re-classified as barn eggs.

The difference in cost of production in typical commercial free range systems during temporary housing measures compared to when birds have range access is negligible. Therefore, any loss of income associated with the current legislation would impact on the profitability and viability of egg producers.

This has an impact on producer confidence and is not a long-term solution, which is why the NFU welcomes Defra’s proposal to remove the 16-week grace period.

Defra and the Scottish Government are proposing to remove the 16 week free range grace period for eggs produced in England or Scotland, allowing eggs to be labelled as free-range instead of barn when laying poultry are housed throughout the duration of mandatory AI housing measures.

Marketing standards are a devolved issue and as it stands the Welsh Government has not announced a consultation on an equivalent proposal that would apply in Wales.

On the launch of the consultation, NFU Poultry Board chair James Mottershead said: “Poultry farmers put the health and welfare of their birds first. This is why, just like any poultry keeper, they must bring their flocks indoors when government-imposed housing measures are put in place.

“However, this can come with additional requirements for egg producers, especially if they must change their packaging.

“This consultation provides an opportunity to remove any unnecessary burden on egg producers in England and Scotland enabling a level playing field with poultry producers in the EU.

“However, many businesses operate nationally across Great Britain, so it’s critical that eggs produced in Wales are also included in any changes to marketing regulations.”

Commenting on the consultation, Farming Minister Mark Spencer said: “We understand the pressures bird flu outbreaks place on our poultry and egg producers, which is why we continue to prioritise ways to support the industry during outbreaks of this disease.”

“I encourage all those with an interest to take part in this consultation to ensure that our free-range industry continues to thrive in years to come.”

The consultation opened on the 9 January 2024 runs for eight weeks. NFU members could share their views with the organisation through a feedback survey that was available on this page until 26 February 2024.

Members are also encouraged to respond directly to Defra at: Consultation on removing the 16-week derogation period in egg marketing standards legislation in England and Scotland. Defra's survey should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete.

Egg marketing standards in the UK require clear production system labelling on the outer surface of egg packs. In certain circumstances, such as mandatory poultry housing measures for avian influenza disease control, there is a grace period that allows eggs produced by laying poultry subject to a government imposed mandatory housing measure to continue to be labelled as free-range for 16 weeks.

If housing measures remain in place after this 16 week period has ended, the code stamped on individual eggs as well as the labelling on the outer packaging must be changed to indicate barn instead of free range production.

During the 2021/22 and 2022/23 avian influenza outbreaks, mandatory government housing measures for poultry exceeded the 16 week grace period, with subsequent changes applicable to labelling in order to comply with marketing standards. This caused additional cost, resource and disruption to egg businesses operating in the UK.

More information: Avian influenza and 'free range' status – what does the law say?

Legislation in the EU

The EU has already amended their egg marketing regulations to remove the 16 week grace period and allow eggs to be marketed as free range for the duration of any mandatory housing measures. Under the current arrangements between the UK and EU, this change also applies to Northern Ireland.

Therefore, as it stands, egg producers in GB could be at a competitive disadvantage to EU and NI producers if any future government-imposed housing measures exceed 16 weeks.

Proposals and NFU position

The changes proposed by Defra and the Scottish Government (which would apply in England and Scotland) would eliminate the administrative burden and cost to the supply chain associated with adopting a labelling solution that complies with marketing regulations after the 16 week grace period expires.

Removal of the 16 week grace period would also ensure a level playing field between egg producers in England and Scotland and those in the EU and NI.

The NFU ask has always been for amendments to the egg marketing regulations to apply across GB and we are disappointed at the absence of Welsh Government involvement in this consultation.

We continue to raise the importance of a GB approach with Welsh officials and will be including reference to this in the NFU response to the consultation.