Unscrambling the Terms and Labels on Egg Cartons

Here’s what you need to know about the life of egg hens and what's inside the shell

Eggs may not come in a large variety of shapes and sizes, but what's inside the shell can vary dramatically.(defotoberg/Shutterstock)

As complete little packets of protein and nutrients that are easy to cook and use in recipes, eggs are a popular food. Yet misleading labels don’t make it easy for average shoppers to make the most informed choices when they shop for eggs. There’s a bewildering number of different egg choices, and many of the terms on egg cartons don’t mean close to what you would think they might mean.

The vast majority of eggs sold in stores in the United States come from caged chickens. Many consumers who know this reality don’t like it, so an increasing number of them are buying more cage-free and organic eggs. But The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin nonprofit group focused on research and education about agricultural and food issues, says the products aren’t always what they’re cracked up to be.

This quick guide covers the most commonly seen terms used on egg cartons, followed by information on labels that are certified or verified to meet certain standards.

Common Terms

Cage-Free

Simply put, cage-free eggs are from hens that don’t live in cages. They are laid by hens that are allowed to roam in a room or open area, which is typically a barn or poultry house, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The chickens have more room than caged hens, but they can still be confined in very close quarters inside a building. They also have little or no access to the outdoors.

Free-Range

Free-range eggs are eggs produced from birds that are allowed access to the outdoors for at least part of the day. They have more space than their caged and cage-free peers, but they don’t get outside as much as you may think. According to the USDA regulation, “free-range” only means that the chickens were allowed “access” to the outside with no specifications about the quality or the duration of that outside exposure.

Pasture-Raised

Pasture-raised isn’t a term that is regulated by the USDA. According to The Cornucopia Institute, the highest meaning of this term is eggs from laying hens in mobile chicken coops that are allowed to roam freely and are never on the same section of pasture for very long. Chickens raised in this way can exhibit their natural behaviors such as foraging, scratching, and flapping their wings, and receive some of their diet naturally from fresh grass, earthworms, seeds, and insects.

Truly pasture-raised eggs are more nutritious than conventional eggs. An egg-testing project conducted by Mother Earth News in 2007 found that compared to the USDA nutrient data for commercial, industrially produced eggs, the benefits of pasture-raised eggs include two-thirds more vitamin A, two times more omega-3 fatty acids, three times more vitamin E, seven times more beta carotene, and four to six times more vitamin D.

The Cornucopia Institute says that pasture-raised is a term that also may be used for eggs from chickens with enhanced outdoor access. This method uses fixed housing with pastures and encourages foraging behaviors in hens.

Other Terms You Might Find on Egg Cartons

Vegetarian Fed

This is a term that conjures up images of chickens being fed healthy vegetables and grains. But the vegetarian feed they’re given is more likely to be genetically modified corn or soy—which many people want to avoid. Also understand that chickens don’t naturally eat just a vegan (animal-free) diet: When outdoors, they like to eat worms and insects in their natural environment.

Omega-3 Enriched

Eggs labeled as omega-3 enriched are produced by hens that are fed a diet containing algae, fish oils, or flaxseed, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, an anti-inflammatory nutrient in which most people are deficient. The omega-3 content of the eggs can be boosted from 30 milligrams per egg to 100–200 milligrams per egg. Omega-3 enriched eggs are higher in this nutrient than conventional eggs, but not as high in it as wild-caught fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, tuna, or trout.

Seals From Certifying Organizations

Certified Humane

A nonprofit certification organization dedicated to improving the lives of farm animals, Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC), developed the “Certified Humane” labeling standards. HFAC does its own farm inspections and takes the USDA requirements for cage-free eggs a few steps further.

Cage-free chickens that are labeled as Certified Humane must have at least 1 1/2 square feet of space per chicken in the barn or enclosure in which to roam around, unlike the USDA requirements, which specify no minimum amount of space per chicken.

There’s currently no legal definition for “free-range” or “pasture-raised” in the United States, but the Certified Humane label adds an extra level of trust to those terms. Free-range eggs that include the Certified Humane label must have at least two square feet per bird.

HFAC’s Certified Humane “pasture-raised” requirement is a minimum outdoor space of 2 1/2 acres per 1,000 birds (or 108 square feet per bird), and the fields must be rotated. The hens must be outdoors year-round provided with mobile or fixed housing to go inside at night, and allowed to roam freely on the pasture during daylight hours.

Non-GMO Project Verified

Conventional eggs come from chickens that are fed GMO corn or soy. When eggs are labeled with the “Non-GMO Project Verified” seal, it means that the eggs come from hens that have passed the Non-GMO Project’s standards for GMO avoidance.

Organic

Certified organic eggs are laid by hens that are fed organic feed that is free of GMOs and synthetic pesticides, and the hens aren’t treated with antibiotics, in accordance with the USDA’s National Organic Program regulations. The eggs are from hens that also have access to the outdoors, according to the USDA.

All organic eggs aren’t created equally, though. Some come from chickens fed organic feed but raised in confinement conditions nearly identical to conventional, industrial-scale egg production. Others come from chickens that have adequate outdoor access, which most people expect with the organic label. The Cornucopia Institute explains much of this in its 2015 report, “Scrambled Eggs: Separating Factory Farm Egg Production from Authentic Organic Agriculture.”

To help consumers make more informed decisions with their purchasing dollars, The Cornucopia Institute created the consumer marketplace tool, the organic egg scorecard, which rates organic eggs based on 28 criteria important to organic consumers. National and regional brands of eggs with exemplary (beyond organic) or excellent (organic promoting outdoor access) ratings on the scorecard include Vital Farms, Wilcox Family Farms, Blue Sky Family Farms, World’s Best Eggs, Shenandoah Family Farms Cooperative, These Came First (Natural Grocers), and Nature’s Yoke.

After learning the meanings of the terms used on egg cartons, select the types of eggs you buy based on: 1) what you can afford, 2) the farming and production methods that matter most to you, and 3) how you will use the eggs.

Shopping Tips

• Most of the time, price is a good indicator of quality in eggs. Look for sales on high-quality eggs.
• The colors of the eggs are based purely on the genetics of the chicken and don’t cause differences in the nutrition of the eggs.
• To avoid GMOs, look for Non-GMO Project Verified eggs.
• To avoid GMOs and pesticides, select USDA Organic eggs.
• If you need more omega-3 fats in your diet, know that either omega-3 enriched eggs or pasture-raised eggs provide higher amounts of omega-3s. But also understand that wild-caught fatty fish will provide more than either type of egg.
• If you’re using eggs for baking and are on a tight budget, consider buying a slightly lesser quality egg than you would when you make eggs as a main dish.
• For the most nutritious choice for you and the healthiest choice for the chickens and the environment, seek out pasture-raised eggs that are labeled both Certified Humane and USDA Organic.

Know the score of organic eggs from different companies. To see if the eggs you buy meet your standards, check out The Cornucopia Institute’s organic egg scorecard.