An eggsplanation of those carton labels

The Savvy Shopper

By Bob Gaydos

The selection of eggs in the supermarket today
 can be challenging.
Photo by Bob Gaydos

“Hon, pick up a dozen eggs while you’re at the grocery store, OK?”

“OK. Farm-fresh, cage-free, organic, all-natural, pasture-raised, vegetarian-fed, free-range, omega-3, or Certified Humane/Animal Welfare Approved?”

“Ummmm … just, y’know, eggs.”

Actually, there’s a lot more to know about eggs these days. As Americans have become more health-conscious, they have grown increasingly interested in how and where their food was produced. More consumers are also concerned today with how humanely the animals that produce the food -- the chickens that lay the eggs in this case -- are treated. This heightened interest has resulted in a proliferation of information on food labels, including egg cartons. Some of this information is useful, some is meaningless and it all can be a bit confusing, unless you know what’s important to you about the eggs you eat.

This list is an effort to ease the confusion.

• Cage-Free: The vast majority of chickens at commercial egg hatcheries live their lives in a small cage that prevents their even being able to turn around. Cage-free chickens, as the name suggests, are raised without such restriction, but the name suggests more than is often the reality. Cage-free chickens aren't running around free as the wind with plenty of elbow room. They remain indoors, with unlimited access to food and water. There are no federal regulations stating how much space cage-free chickens must get, but United Egg Producers, an industry group, offers voluntary certification requiring that each bird has at least one square foot of space. It’s not much, but it’s more than double the size of standard cages in which billions of chickens lay their eggs. Cage-free chickens also have access to perches and nests for laying eggs.

• Free-Range: This is a little closer to what is suggested. Free-range  chickens live in a shelter with no cages and have access to the outdoors. But the birds don't actually have to go outdoors, just be able to if they want to. There are also no regulations on how long the birds must stay outside, but free-range hens with eggs that are “Certified Humane” must have access to at least two square feet of outdoor space for up to six hours a day … whether they use it or not. Free-range eggs were shown in a study to have slightly higher Omega-3 fatty acids, linked to heart, brain and eye health levels. This is because of worms and insects the hens forage outside. The added health benefits to humans is disputed by major egg producers.
• Pasture-Raised: There is no federal regulation for this term, but farmers who use it say their chickens have access to plenty of open space where they can forage on green plants and insects, which is their nature. Happy hens. Some farmers rotate their birds to different pastures so they can have variety in their diet. Pasture-raised hens may have more than 100 square feet each in which to hunt and peck to their heart’s content. Nutritionally, this increases the amount of beta-carotene, vitamins D and E, and omega-3 fatty acids in the eggs. The hens may be given feed to supplement their foraging. Traditional egg producers also say there is no significant nutritional difference between these eggs and industry-produced eggs. Pasture farmers strongly disagree.
• Organic: There are actually regulations for this claim. Organic eggs must come from uncaged hens that have access to the outdoors and are fed a diet grown without synthetic pesticides, fungicides or fertilizers and free of GMOs. USDA certification for organic eggs is mandatory for producers with more than $5,000 in annual sales. Farms are inspected regularly. Free-range or pasture-raised eggs cannot be labeled organic unless the chickens are allowed to roam only on land certified organic. That means no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers were used.
• Vegetarian or all-natural: Voluntary labels. It means that the hens have a diet consisting mostly of corn and soybeans and are not fed any animal protein. Free-range or pasture-raised chickens are unlikely to be vegetarian because they will scavenge for worms, bugs and larvae outdoors. Thus, vegetarian-fed chickens are likely to spend no time outdoors.
• Omega-3: This label claim means these fatty acids, beneficial to human health, are fed to hens, usually in the form of flaxseed, algae or fish oil. Again, while it certainly can’t hurt, there is a difference of opinion as to how much “healthier” this supplement to their feed makes the hens’ eggs. These claims are not routinely checked by the FDA.
• Certified Humane Raised and Handled: These eggs meet the standards of the Humane Farm Animal Care program, which is an independent nonprofit. The standards include being cage-free and having sufficient space for such chicken behaviors as dust bathing and perching.
• Hormone-free, antibiotic-free. No hormones are used in producing eggs. Antibiotics are rarely used and usually for only a brief period. Flocks producing conventional eggs may use FDA-approved antibiotics in feed or water and must comply with FDA levels of use designed to prevent antibiotic residues in the eggs.
• United Egg Producers Certified: The eggs were produced in compliance with industry-codified standard practices. (More than 80 percent of commercial eggs carry this seal.)
• Etcetera: It should be noted that the nutrients in eggs are found in the yolks, while the egg whites are primarily protein. Also, some pasture-raised hens’ eggs may vary in flavor and appearance depending on the vegetation available in different seasons.

“OK, one more question, hon. What color eggs do you want?”

“Doesn’t matter. The eggs are the same. Different hens lay different colors. But I prefer brown.”

Required reading: New food labels

The healthy shopper - 1

By Bob Gaydos

In a bow to reality, the Food and Drug Administration has proposed new requirements for nutrition labels on prepared foods and beverages. The changes are the first since the FDA began requiring the labels more than two decades ago. The proposals would give more prominence to total calorie content, rather than how many calories come from what kind of fat, and require companies to list how much sugar has been added to the product. The FDA also would require listing how much Vitamin D, dietary fiber, potassium, calcium and iron the product contains.

The agency is also proposing lowering the recommended daily sodium intake to 2300 milligrams from 2400, but is asking for comment on lowering it to 1500 milligrams, a level encouraged by many medical and health groups.

Finally, the proposed new labels would also have revised serving sizes for some products in the hope of more accurately reflecting the way people consume it. For example, a 12 -or-20 ounce bottle of soda would be considered one serving, not two, since most people typically consume the whole bottle. A pint of ice cream would be two servings, not four. This should make it easier to calculate how many calories people are actually consuming.

Some look at this action by the FDA as a recognition -- somewhat belatedly -- of Americans’ changing eating habits and a desire to provide more useful information for an increasingly label-reading population. Others see it as ignoring more important labeling issues, for example, clearly labeling what ingredients are good for consumers and which ones they should try to avoid.

Health advocates say that emphasizing specific ingredients on the label, as the FDA proposes, allows food companies to make front-of-the-product claims that suggest the product is healthful -- low in fat, high in fiber, rich in Vitamin C, for example -- when other ingredients -- salt and sugar for example -- may be present in less than healthful percentages.

Advocates for more healthful foods also suggest that instead of listing every different type of sugar on the label -- a practice that effectively hides the overall sugar content of many products -- it would be better to just list the total sugar content and for the FDA to issue a recommended daily amount for sugar intake. Clear front-of-the-package labels have also been urged as a way to help pressed-for-time shoppers make quicker, healthier choices.   

Some health advocates go so far as to suggest that the FDA require labels that classify the nutrients in a product in two easy-to- understand categories -- “get enough” and “avoid too much.” The FDA has actually offered that option in its proposed labeling changes.

In any case, whatever changes eventually come about on food labels, the challenging issue right now for many shoppers is the seemingly endless array of new information and products greeting them as they graze supermarket aisles. Never mind figuring out which brand gives you more for your money, today it can be tough trying to figure out exactly what you’re getting for your money and whether it’s as good for you as the label says.

In a series of occasional articles, I will try to take some of the mystery and confusion out of the new food shopping by answering such questions as: What’s gluten and do I need to be free of it? What’s a GMO? Is ‘’natural’’ always natural? What makes it “organic”? And what’s the controversy about palm oil?

*  *  *

For starters, since the FDA is recommending listing how much “added sugar” is in any product, but there’s no way to know when or if it will actually do so, it would be useful to be able to recognize the different names under which sugar travels on labels. Anyone concerned about how much sugar he or she consumes (which should be everyone), should know these aliases: sucrose, dextrose, maltose, lactose, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, in fact, most words ending in “ose” or “syrup,” cane sugar, cane juice, honey, caramel, palm sugar, molasses, brown sugar, invert sugar, fruit juice concentrates, dextrin, malt, agave and other nectars, sorghum and treacle.

These are the most common aliases, but there are dozens of variations of sugar listed on labels. Any of these near the top of the list, means there’s a lot of sugar in the product. Several of these listed on the labels suggests the same thing. Be aware.

Next: What is gluten and should I be free of it?

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