Post by account_disabled on Mar 12, 2024 9:14:57 GMT
In order to offer healthier foods and promote animal protection, several companies have joined the initiative to use only eggs from cage-free hens in their food by 2025.
This change will force companies to modify the production scheme of poultry companies and consequently expand their costs, impacting prices for the final consumer.
In Chile, the production of free-range eggs doubled in 2018, however there is still much to do for this market to consolidate. The supply of this type of eggs reaches 2% of the total, which is 76 million of the 3,800 that are sold per year.
This is where several companies opened their own cage-free lines, which is a problem that is obvious since in Chile there is no certification that certifies that these chickens really live under minimum standards of the cage free and free range systems. .
Chicken egg industry producers
For this reason, producers of this type of eggs have had to apply for the international private certification called Certified Humane. This in order to make its production more transparent and demonstrate to each consumer that certain standards for animal welfare are met.
Patricio Kurte, general manager France Mobile Number List of the Chilean Egg Association (ChileHuevos), says that "unfortunately, as the issue is incipient, specific certification or supervision for cage-free systems has not yet been developed."
"This is not like in Europe where there is a traceability system for eggs, that does not yet exist here and it is an issue that must be developed," commented Kurte and stressed that within the union a Cage-Free Production Committee was created whose objective is to "generate consensus among producers to reach standards that effectively give clarity to consumers about what they are buying, but both in systems with cages and those without them."
«There has been a discussion that a chicken is better off if it has more space and that is not necessarily true. There are several European studies that indicate that there is no optimal distance, in fact if they are too far apart they tend to attack each other and if they are too close together they tend to attack each other. Currently, more than seeing distances, size and height, what is aimed at is seeing how the bird is physiologically and its behavior. "That is what is checked, regardless of whether or not it is in a cage."
The vision is to produce eggs with animal welfare in each production system.
In an interview with Emol , Sandra Jerez, head of the Animal Welfare subdepartment of the SAG, says that at the national level there are 400 officials who are aware of the actions that must be carried out with the logistics and regulations of free-range chicken eggs.
Chicken egg industry producers
Is it possible to supervise the brands that sell eggs in supermarkets?
«No, 100% is not achieved. That is, considering the number of companies in the livestock universe, there are a number of auditable establishments and, of that number, there is a percentage that actually has more regular inspection.
Along these lines, and considering the gap in the differentiation of systems in the regulations, Jumbo (Cencosud) detailed to Emol that every time a new supplier wants to enter the supermarket, it is the Supplier Quality Control Department that evaluates and audits to the company according to Good Manufacturing Practices.
Thus, in the case of eggs from free-range hens, "certification is requested" and "producers must justify and demonstrate this type of seal through endorsements that prove this condition."
This change will force companies to modify the production scheme of poultry companies and consequently expand their costs, impacting prices for the final consumer.
In Chile, the production of free-range eggs doubled in 2018, however there is still much to do for this market to consolidate. The supply of this type of eggs reaches 2% of the total, which is 76 million of the 3,800 that are sold per year.
This is where several companies opened their own cage-free lines, which is a problem that is obvious since in Chile there is no certification that certifies that these chickens really live under minimum standards of the cage free and free range systems. .
Chicken egg industry producers
For this reason, producers of this type of eggs have had to apply for the international private certification called Certified Humane. This in order to make its production more transparent and demonstrate to each consumer that certain standards for animal welfare are met.
Patricio Kurte, general manager France Mobile Number List of the Chilean Egg Association (ChileHuevos), says that "unfortunately, as the issue is incipient, specific certification or supervision for cage-free systems has not yet been developed."
"This is not like in Europe where there is a traceability system for eggs, that does not yet exist here and it is an issue that must be developed," commented Kurte and stressed that within the union a Cage-Free Production Committee was created whose objective is to "generate consensus among producers to reach standards that effectively give clarity to consumers about what they are buying, but both in systems with cages and those without them."
«There has been a discussion that a chicken is better off if it has more space and that is not necessarily true. There are several European studies that indicate that there is no optimal distance, in fact if they are too far apart they tend to attack each other and if they are too close together they tend to attack each other. Currently, more than seeing distances, size and height, what is aimed at is seeing how the bird is physiologically and its behavior. "That is what is checked, regardless of whether or not it is in a cage."
The vision is to produce eggs with animal welfare in each production system.
In an interview with Emol , Sandra Jerez, head of the Animal Welfare subdepartment of the SAG, says that at the national level there are 400 officials who are aware of the actions that must be carried out with the logistics and regulations of free-range chicken eggs.
Chicken egg industry producers
Is it possible to supervise the brands that sell eggs in supermarkets?
«No, 100% is not achieved. That is, considering the number of companies in the livestock universe, there are a number of auditable establishments and, of that number, there is a percentage that actually has more regular inspection.
Along these lines, and considering the gap in the differentiation of systems in the regulations, Jumbo (Cencosud) detailed to Emol that every time a new supplier wants to enter the supermarket, it is the Supplier Quality Control Department that evaluates and audits to the company according to Good Manufacturing Practices.
Thus, in the case of eggs from free-range hens, "certification is requested" and "producers must justify and demonstrate this type of seal through endorsements that prove this condition."