Definition of Organic Eggs?
BarJW Farm
successful in searching the subject so I'll just go ahead and
apologize in advance. Surely "organic" does not refer to feed that
does not include animal protein. If the rules vary from state to state
I live in Texas. The chickens do free-range several hours each day. I
also would like to know if there are any rules or regulations for
selling farm eggs to individuals: the liabilities or other concerns
one might have. I currently sell eggs to friends and family, but I
would like to put out some flyers in a nearby neighborhood to sell my
excess eggs and need to know if I'm opening myself up to problems or
if i should just reduce the size of my little flock. Any suggestions
on how folks promote their product would be nice, too. Thanks! -diane
Clucker
BarJW Farm <barj...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:42341fe9.01080...@posting.google.com...
> I'm sure this subject comes up frequently, but I have not been
> successful in searching the subject so I'll just go ahead and
> apologize in advance. Surely "organic" does not refer to feed that
> does not include animal protein.
That would just be Vegetarian or Vegan food, not Organic.
>If the rules vary from state to state
> I live in Texas. The chickens do free-range several hours each day. I
> also would like to know if there are any rules or regulations for
> selling farm eggs to individuals: the liabilities or other concerns
> one might have. I currently sell eggs to friends and family, but I
> would like to put out some flyers in a nearby neighborhood to sell my
> excess eggs and need to know if I'm opening myself up to problems or
> if i should just reduce the size of my little flock. Any suggestions
> on how folks promote their product would be nice, too.
Eggs sold under the description 'Organic' need to be registered with an
approved Organic Certification Organisation (such as the Soil Association).
Their premises will be inspected regularly to ensure that the standards are
adhered to.
Land needs to be proven to have been chemical free (ie: chemicals not used
on the land in any form, herbicides, pesticides, fertilisers etc) for a
certain period of time (usually 5 - 10 years).
Permitted:
That hens be kept on deep litter, provided they have reasonable access to
grass or a regular supply of green food and natural light.
That feeds should be prepared by the local merchant, provided that the
ingredients are known not to include any of the 'prohibited' additives.
The minimal use of drugs and antibiotics in the case of serious illness.
Recommended:
That feeds should be prepared from organically grown ingredients,
supplemented by seaweed, boneflour or other natural minerals.
That coarse grain should be included in the diet of all laying birds.
Experience has shown that the adoption of the 'recommended Comfort and
Feeding' practices encourages stock to develop a natural ability to surmount
disease.
Where, however, disease occurs, herbal treatments should be used in the
first instance.
Prohibited:
The routine use of drugs and antibiotics.
The use of antibiotic foods, urea, and other chemical additives.
Any over-crowding.
Battery hens.
De-beaking.
According to the MAFF, Free Range Eggs should be produced according to these
minimum criteria:
i] Hens musthave continuous daytime access to open-air runs.
ii] the ground to which hens have access is mainly covered by vegetation,
iii] the maximum stocking density is not greater than 1000 hens per hectare
of ground available to the hens, or one hen per 10 square metres.
iv] the interior of the building must satisfy these conditions:
a] max. stocking density is not greater than 7 hens per square metere of
floor space available to the hens,
b]at least a third of this floor area is covered with a litter material such
as straw, wood shavings, sand or turf.
c] a sufficiently large area of the floor area availabler to the hens is
used for the collection of bird droppings.
d] the interior of the building is fitted with perches of a length
sufficient to ensure at least 15 centimetres of perch space for each hen.
v] maximum flock size is 16000 birds.
The RSPCA has its own special welfare standards for laying hens. Eggs
produced by hens kept according to their criteria are sold under the 'RSPCA
Freedom Food' label.
i] max stocking density of 7 birds per square metre.
ii] at least 33% of the floor space must be provided as litter suitable for
dustbathing.
iii] one nestbox must be provided for every 5 hens.
iv] 15 centimetres of perch space per hen.
v] one hectare of land per 1000 birds.
vi] maximum colony size is 4000 birds.
It is illegal to sell eggs labelled as Organic or Free Range unless the
premises the eggs come from has been officially registered as such. It is
also illegal to sell eggs in boxes unless the premises has been registered
as a Packing Station.
Small producers selling surplus eggs can do so from open trays, this is
legal.
I gave a leaflet to my customers describing the eggs as 'Fresh Eggs from pet
chickens - they forage freely outdoors, and are given only Organic non-GMO
food', and with a date of lay and use-by-date.
I sold eggs through the local LETS system.
HTH,
--
Ket
Glos, UK
/|\
Fowl Not Foul Flock Diary http://chicken.loveslife.com
http://www.broodyhen.co.uk
Derek Turner
<k...@HENSTEETH.dreamfire.co.uk> wrote:
So now our friend in texas knows just what he has to do to sell his
eggs here in the UK!
I _suspect_ US law may be a little different?
Clucker
Derek Turner <frde...@t.barclays.dot.net> wrote in message
news:89vnmts89ia6fa8r4...@4ax.com...
> On Fri, 3 Aug 2001 17:01:23 +0100, "Clucker"
> <k...@HENSTEETH.dreamfire.co.uk> wrote:
>
>
> So now our friend in texas knows just what he has to do to sell his
> eggs here in the UK!
>
> I _suspect_ US law may be a little different?
>
;-)
Thanks for pointing that out, Derek...
biiiiiiggg whoops! I meant to mention that I was speaking from the UK point
of view at the beginning of my post - I did intend to add it in before I
posted, but somehow forgot! Hopefully someone else here knows what the U.S.
situation is?
BarJW Farm
maybe I'll have to ship 'em. -diane
"Clucker" <k...@HENSTEETH.dreamfire.co.uk> wrote in message news:<996933885.22513.0...@news.demon.co.uk>...
