What Free Range Really Means

Manuel gallegus explains.

What free range really means.

When it comes to food labeling one of the most confusing areas of the supermarket is the meat aisle. Chicken is a tricky one. There is one organization certifying farms for free range chicken. Pastured eggs are the only ones that you can trust that the hens actually spend substantial time outside.

What this general claim means. Food standard labels are a good starting point but truth is they can only tell you so much and whether its red tractor rspca assured or organic standards can vary wildly within each bracket. Here s what you should know regarding the free range craze currently happening. From natural to free range consumers are bombarded with labels.

Unfortunately it is not a usda regulated term so it can mean different things depending on the brand. Free range cage free means the hens were allowed to wander freely but that wandering can be limited to a hen house. The rspca states that chickens must have a defined amount of space no more than 13 birds a square metre be 56 days old before they are. Free range is another tricky claim.

Consumer reports greener choices evaluation of the claim free range states. Many people who buy eggs believe free range means the hens are not caged true and they are roaming outdoors most of the time eh uncertain. A lot of customers don t really know what the terms means anymore and it would appear that very few farmers do either. Somehow we ve associated free range with fresh and somewhere along the line a lot has gotten lost in translation.

Which egg label really means that the hens roam free. What does free range really mean. The free range label requires that the hens be allowed outside. If poultry is certified free range as part of the humane farm animal care s hfac certified humane program it means the chickens spend at least six hours a day outdoors weather permitting and have pens with at least two square feet per bird.

The meat industry can be confusing to say the least and at worst it can also be horribly corrupt. Once plucked and prepared there are few clues to guide you to a good bird. The hens may still live in over crowded and unhealthful conditions. The newly devised national standards state that these free range facilities may have a stocking density of up to 10 000 birds per hectare and that hens should have regular and meaningful access to the outdoors but do not specify what that actually means.

Free range poultry must meet legal requirements. The certified humane program. Free range eggs does not mean that the eggs are organic or gmo free.