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Forbes
17-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Beyond The Carton: What Are Premium Eggs And Why Do They Matter?
Egg shortages have left consumers scrambling to find cartons on store shelves. And when eggs are in stock, shoppers are faced with higher prices, carton limits and a confusing list of labels that make it hard to decide which eggs to take home. 'I've always seen people standing in front of egg aisles looking perplexed, but now you see it more than ever,' says Phyllis Rothschild, chief marketing officer for Pete & Gerry's, the nation's top producer of organic, pasture-raised and free-range eggs. With conventional egg prices hitting record highs, more consumers are purchasing premium eggs like Pete & Gerry's. Pete & Gerry's Part of the confusion stems from the prices. Avian influenza, or bird flu, has caused prices of commodity eggs to hit record highs and, in some cases, made them more expensive than premium eggs. It's led to an increase in the number of consumers who purchase eggs with free-range, pasture-raised and organic labels. The difference between commodity eggs and premium eggs from brands like Pete & Gerry's and Nellie's Free Range Eggs is evident in the first bite. It makes consumers think, "Hey, what have I been missing my whole life? These eggs are so much better,' Rothschild says. Labels can help consumers find premium eggs in stores, but they are often hard-pressed to definitively say what they mean. Research shows that 89% of shoppers who purchased eggs with labels like natural, vegetarian-fed or farm-raised believed the claims indicated higher animal welfare standards. But these specific claims are often misleading. Rothschild suggests skipping over cartons emblazoned with the phrases 'farm raised,' 'all natural' and 'fresh' because all hens are raised on farms, and all eggs are natural and fresh. 'Vegetarian-fed' is another misleading label claim. Chickens are omnivores and want to eat bugs and worms alongside nutritious chicken feed. Cage-free is yet another misunderstood label. It can paint a picture that hens are free to roam in the grass, but Rothschild says 'these hens barely see the light of day.' 'They're not locked in a cage, but they're in very crowded, large buildings,' she says. 'They rarely even have windows.' Cage-free hens are not, in fact, free. They are housed inside large, cramped barn structures and rarely, if ever, go outdoors. Adobe Consumers who value hen welfare and premium eggs should look for eggs with 'free-range' or 'pasture-raised' labels. The U.S. Department of Agriculture regulates the use of these terms, which means that eggs labeled 'free-range' or 'pasture-raised' were laid by hens that spent time outdoors, in the sunshine, perching and dustbathing, and foraging for natural critters, Rothschild explains. The USDA organic label denotes that hens were free to roam, had access to the outdoors and ate organic diets made from feeds produced without conventional pesticides or fertilizers. Another meaningful label, Certified Humane, comes with a guarantee that hens were not raised in cages and were provided the opportunity to express their innate, instinctual behaviors, or, said differently, to act like hens. 'We were the first premium egg, so it made sense that we were going to be the first brand to be Certified Humane,' says Pete & Gerry's CEO Tom Flocco. 'This is a company that's done a lot of things first, and it's consistent with the mission and consistent with walking the talk of caring about the welfare of animals, caring about the family farm. Getting a meaningful label on your farm's eggs starts with how you raise the chickens. Pete & Gerry's partners with almost 300 family farms across 15 states in what Flocco describes as a 'very different model in terms of hen welfare.' Smaller-scale family farms are also important for egg safety during the avian influenza crisis. It's often only the family members managing their flock, and having fewer people coming on and off the farm increases biosecurity, reducing the risk that hens will become infected with the contagious, viral disease. Partnering with family farms and prioritizing hen welfare is better for the hens and better for consumers: Healthy hens lay better eggs. The Barry Family, one of Pete & Gerry's nearly 300 family farm partners. Pete & Gerry's 'You can tell in a second when an egg didn't come from a healthy hen,' says Flocco. The telltale signs: weak shells, pale yolks and runny egg whites. For consumers who purchase premium eggs, the words printed on the colorful Pete & Gerry's carton — healthy hens, healthy eggs, healthy planet — are not just marketing, but a promise. 'Hen welfare does matter, not only because it's the right thing to do but also because it makes for a better product and a better experience for you as a consumer,' Flocco says. 'You bring them home and you crack them and you eat them and you say, 'Wow, this is really different and better, and I'm not going back.''
Forbes
17-04-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Cracking The Myths: The Truth About Avian Flu, Egg Safety And What Consumers Should Know
Fears about avian influenza have moved faster than pasture-raised hens in search of the juiciest worms. The outbreak has been blamed for high egg prices and supply shortages while also raising concerns that it might not be safe to eat eggs. But consumers shouldn't have to look hard for facts. Although avian influenza is a serious disease for birds, significant safeguards are in place to make sure that eggs from infected chickens don't reach store shelves. With help from Cameron Whitehead, the chief operating officer at Pete & Gerry's, we've identified and busted five bird flu myths to help you make an informed decision when buying your next carton. Avian influenza is a contagious, viral disease that causes symptoms in birds ranging from tremors and misshapen eggs to sudden death. It's spread when chickens come into contact with infected birds or through contaminated water, feed and equipment. Although avian influenza is a serious disease for birds, significant safeguards are in place to make sure that eggs from infected chickens don't reach store shelves. In fact, the chances of it happening are 'almost zero,' Whitehead says. Farms will test their hens 'even with the slightest hint of disease,' he explains. 'And if a flock tests positive, all eggs that were created by that flock are destroyed.' Your omelet is safe. Cooking eggs to an internal temperature of 165 degrees kills viruses, including avian influenza, so go ahead and make eggs however you like them. Handling eggs is safe, too. There is no evidence that eggshells can transmit avian influenza. It is important, however, to follow recommended food handling practices that include storing eggs in the refrigerator and washing your hands and utensils with hot, soapy water after touching raw eggs. While prices for a dozen eggs have reached record highs, Pete & Gerry's has not raised the price of its premium, free-range and pasture-raised eggs in two years. This also goes for its sister brand, Nellie's Free Range Eggs. Whitehead credits the company's family farm model for providing stable prices and a reliable supply chain. The New Hampshire-based Certified B Corporation works with almost 300 family farms in 15 states to produce premium eggs, all of which are Certified Humane. The rigorous, third-party certification guarantees that hens are raised without confinement in conditions that allow them to express natural behaviors like dustbathing, perching and roaming outdoors. On commodity farms, however, chickens are housed in cages or barns with up to 400,000 birds, and each farm can have upwards of 10 barns, he explained. If a single bird is infected with avian influenza, all of the birds on site must be culled, causing egg supplies to go down dramatically and prices to go up. 'Our diversification means that, although [avian influenza] is a tragedy, any impacts have such a minimal overall supply/demand change for us,' Whitehead adds. 'Our pricing has been able to remain very stable.' On Pete & Gerry's family farms, hens roam outside where they can express natural behaviors. It's not uncommon to see empty shelves that should be filled with egg cartons — but avian influenza may be only partly to blame. While the virus has put a significant dent in the supplies of caged and cage-free eggs, causing price hikes, inflation and the increasing cost of chicken feed and other inputs have also made eggs more expensive. Since 2020, the cost to care for livestock has increased 28%, and farmers are spending more on animal feed, marketing, storage and transportation to get eggs to stores. Food inflation, meanwhile, has increased faster than historic averages. Even though Pete & Gerry's is susceptible to rising input costs and inflation like any egg producer, the company hasn't passed those costs on to consumers. Whitehead credits 'the company finding efficiencies and working hard … to make sure that we can keep costs where they are, even with the rising tide of inflation.' The availability and stable pricing of premium eggs during the outbreak has led many consumers to crack their first one. Once people see the deep orange yolks, firm egg whites and taste the superior flavor, many switch over for good. 'They feel good about what they're buying, feel good about supporting a family farm network, and they feel good about the quality of the product,' Whitehead adds. 'When you do that math, it's one of the easiest places to invest in animal welfare and support family farms.' Free-range and pasture-raised hens have access to outdoor spaces to forage for worms in the grass, take dust baths and feel the sunshine on their feathers. Access to the outdoors isn't just associated with better animal welfare; it also appears to protect chickens from avian influenza. The latest data shows that almost 100% of avian influenza outbreaks occurred at farms that housed chickens in cages or in cage-free environments while just 0.1% of outbreaks were on organic farms where chickens were raised in free-range or pasture-raised environments. 'Locking your birds into cages, into large prison-like structures, is not helping you with any of your biosecurity concerns,' Whitehead says. 'Our farmers are actually the best stewards of biosecurity because they have such a vested interest in the health of their birds and success of that flock.'
