Dutch vote ‘barn eggs’ most misleading

Dutch consumers have voted “barn eggs” to be the most misleading label on food packaging in the country following a vote conducted by the animal welfare group Wakker Dier.

The group posted advertisements for a variety of food products, including fresh fish, pork, sausages and chicken noodles, on their website and allowed consumers to vote which they believed were most deceiving.

Consumers said barn eggs were the most the most deceptive followed by food products aimed at children and fish from a discount retailer.

The Dutch term for barn eggs, scharrelei, describes a hen’s ability to move about to forage or scratch, not the type of building where they are kept, but historically it has been used to described barn eggs.

“Many people in The Netherlands would think that when they are buying a scharrelei that would come from an outdoor hen, which is not true,” Mr Geert Laugs, director of Compassion in World Farming Netherlands said.

Laying hens in the Dutch barn system are kept to a stocking density of nine birds per square metre with no access to the outdoors.

Wakker Dier wants to see the Dutch government change regulations so the term schuurei, which more closely resembles the English term “barn egg”, is used in the place of scharrelei.

Mr Laugs agreed that consumers should be provided with accurate information on packaging, including images used on products.

“We want to see clear labelling in general on products that describes the housing system where the animals have been kept,” he said.

“It’s clear that if there are any pictures on the packaging of any animal product they should be representing what’s in the box.”