Egg Labels - What You Should Know

Egg Labels – What You Should Know

Eggs have some of the more misleading labels you may find on the market.

When I say misleading, they tell the truth – but they are not always telling the whole truth.

Some things you may see on the egg cartons when promoting eggs are all-natural, free-range, no hormones or no added hormones, no antibiotics, cage-free, and free-range. Oh, and there is an idea that brown eggs are healthier than white eggs.

But what most people don’t realize is that pretty much all these labels can be on any carton of eggs. These terms don’t have much meaning, and here is why.

Color of Eggs – Brown is Healthier?  

When I was at Costco recently, I noticed that the conventional eggs in the clear cartons were white, and the organic eggs in the clear carton were brown. So maybe this is why in part, people think that brown eggs are somehow better or superior to white eggs?

Nope. The color of eggs only has to do with the breed of chicken and nothing more.

I get my eggs from a family member, and we get white eggs, green eggs, and different shades of brown eggs. Some of the white eggs are big and don’t fit into my traditional egg cartons. Some of the brown eggs are small. The green eggs are thinner and taller, and the other eggs are “normal” egg shapes. We don’t be blue eggs or brown speckled eggs.

The color of the shell had no bearing on the nutritional value of the eggs. It also does not impact the quality of the eggs, what people feed the hens or their living conditions.

They all come in various colors, but they are all equal in their nutrition.

Natural Eggs – What Eggs Aren’t Natural? 

I don’t understand the point of this label, and I don’t even know if it is on egg cartons. But people have told me that they only use natural eggs. I don’t know what that means since I don’t know what an unnatural egg is.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), they consider “the term ‘natural’ to mean nothing artificial or synthetic (including all color additives regardless of source) has been included in, or added to, a food that would not normally be expected to be in that food.”  

Now, not sure how this would occur, but I don’t know how one would add anything to eggs in a shell. Even at Easter, eggs are still natural when people dye eggs since the egg dye is on the surface, not IN that food.

Natural eggs? All eggs are natural, and that is a fact. If they come from chickens, they are natural.

Now there are egg alternatives such as plant-based “eggs,” – and while they may call themselves “eggs,” they are not. Not sure why I am talking about this here since this post is about eggs and not plastic eggs, eggs that hold pantyhose, or eggs that don’t come from birds, specifically chickens.

Let’s Talk Hormones

While this is a buzzword with a particular crowd, and some people believe hormones in their foods are problematic, good luck finding foods without hormones.

You have hormones. Animals have hormones. And even plants have hormones. That is a fact.

If you have food, any food that states “no hormones,” then that is misleading and incorrect.

Besides, humans don’t have receptors for the hormones of other animals. And, when we eat something that has a hormone in it, the stomach acid would denature or destroy it before it could affect the body.

When people take hormones, it is usually an injection in the muscle. Testosterone? Injection. Insulin? Injection. Fertility hormones? Injection. So even with hormones in food, they don’t work on the human body that way.

No ADDED hormones – that is different—sort of.

Food cannot be labeled as “no hormones,” but it can be labeled as “no added hormones.” But take a closer look. Closer. The fine print.

Despite what people say or believe, the egg industry in the U.S. does not use hormones in the production of eggs. Period. So, if the label states “No Added Hormones,” it is also required to have the following statement: “Hormones are not used in the production of shell eggs.” This statement is theoretically there to prevent misleading consumers about this. But consumers are misled all the time.

I heard people say that they buy the eggs with no hormones. Guess what? Everyone gets eggs with hormones and eggs with no ADDED hormones. Period. Their eggs are not unique.

But they do get antibiotics. Sometimes.

Well sure. If an animal is sick with a bacterial infection, it gets treated with antibiotics. So what kind of animal cruelty are we talking about when people don’t want an animal treated when they are sick. But chicken farmers are not walking around with antibiotics at the ready. They still need a doctor, aka a veterinarian, to prescribe them.

And hens treated for the infection with antibiotics are not allowed to be put in the egg-laying area. In addition, their eggs are not allowed to mix with the healthy hen eggs for human consumption per FDA regulations.

I went more into the antibiotics in our food a couple of weeks ago. They are not there like people think they are.  

Cage-Free and Free-Range Eggs

As much as this sounds great, it probably doesn’t mean what you think it means.

Cage-free means the chickens are not in cages. But that does not imply they have a lot of space either. It could be 100 chickens in a small pen together, just not in individual cages.

And while cage-free sounds excellent, all the family and friends I have known with chickens keep them in a pen or a cage surrounded by chicken wire. It is an ample space, with plenty of room, but they are cages.

So in a cage isn’t always a bad thing, and cage-free isn’t always a better thing. For example, look at Times Square on New Year’s Eve; there are no cages, but they are packed tight with little room to move around.

And as for the free-range birds? They have access to the outside, just like humans. But whether they choose to access the outside or go outside ever, is up to the chicken. And the human. Some will do it, but not always.

Other Terms:

Vegetarian Eggs – as much as I want to make fun of this term, this is a claim on some eggs. This claim only means the diet of the chicken was vegetarian. But the chickens I know wander free, eat bugs and worms, and even go at each other. To each their own. So, the eggs aren’t vegetarian, but their mother’s diet was.

Organic Eggs – this is quite a process, and you will likely pay a lot more for these. No added hormones and no antibiotics are allowed with ALL egg producers. They are also cage-free and free-roaming. Great. Their feed is also organic with no synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. The keyword there is synthetic. There may still be pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. Everything must be organic every step of the way. And to get this label, they must be certified. I outline the many steps (and years) it takes to become certified organic in The Truth About Organic post. It is quite an endeavor. 

Gluten-Free – Really? Eggs are naturally gluten-free, and if a chicken is given wheat, barley, or rye as part of its feed, it is not passed into the eggs. It just isn’t. That suggests that a mother who eats wheat while pregnant gives gluten to her fetus. That isn’t how it works.

So before paying more for eggs because of a label, learn what the terms mean. If it matters to you, that is fine, but don’t pay extra or fall for the no antibiotics or the no added hormones or the natural eggs because ALL eggs for sale in this country are sold with no antibiotics, no added hormones, and are natural.

And why do we refrigerate eggs in our country but not in others? I answered that question in this prior post, What’s Up With Eggs?