Deciphering Egg Carton Claims

I've realized that lately when I pick out a carton of a dozen eggs at the grocery store, I'm completely guessing about or even rationalizing the veracity of the claims made on the outside of the carton. "Cage free," "free range," "natural," "organic," "vegetarian," I've seen it all and don't know what to think.

I'm a skeptic and assume (rightly, I truly believe) that companies will put anything and everything on a label that they can get away with legally in order to convince you their product is better, safer, cleaner, and more 'natural.'

When it comes to organic labeling the USDA gives us some rules we can follow, but I have absolutely no idea about egg labeling.

Fortunately Catherine Price at the New York Times has done some research for us in her article, "Sorting Through the Claims of the Boastful Egg."

Some claims on egg cartons are regulated by the federal government, some by the states and some not at all. Some affect consumers’ health, some touch upon ethics and some are meaningless. All purport to describe how the hens were raised, or what they were fed, or what extra benefits their eggs might provide. So, what do these terms mean?

Even better, if you don't feel like reading the whole Times article, misterjalopy at BoingBoing has parsed the facts down to an egg buying cheat sheet he carries in his wallet.

Understanding Organic Product Labeling

The purpose of this page is to simply and concisely answer the questions: What do the different organic labels mean? And what descriptions of organic products are allowed by law. We’ll also take a look at the labels and logos of some organic certification entities.

For the legal definition of “organic,” see our Organic Defined section. See our Certification section for an explanation of how products are certified organic.

The following is a guide to the descriptions, labels and logos that are used and how their use is regulated by the US government.

The 3 main organic labels you will see are 100% Organic, Organic, and Made with Organic. The 4th describes labeling requirements for products with less than 70% Organic ingrediants. All 4 are shown and described below.

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100% Organic:

100% Organic: Only products that contain 100 percent organically produced ingredients, not counting added water and salt may be labeled “100% Organic.” These products may also be labeled with the UDSA Organic logo (more on the USDA logo below).

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Organic:

Organic: Products which contain at least 95% organic ingredients, not counting added water and salt, may be labeled “Organic.” The USDA Organic logo may also appear on the label.

The other 5%: Must not contain added sulfites. May contain nonorganically produced agricultural ingredients which are not commercially available in organic form and/or other substances allowed by 7 CFR 205.605.

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Made with Organic Ingredients:

Made with Organic Ingredients: Products containing at least 70% organic ingredients, not counting added water and salt, may include a list of the organic ingredients on the label. An example is, “Made with Organic Oats, Raisins, and Dates.”

The other 30%: (same as above) Must not contain added sulfites. May contain nonorganically produced agricultural ingredients which are not commercially available in organic form and/or other substances allowed by 7 CFR 205.605.

The USDA Organic logo is not allowed to appear on the label.

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Less than 70% Organic ingredients:

If a product is made with less than 70% organic ingredients none of the descriptive labels above may be used. Instead, it is only allowed to state what percentage of the ingredients are organic and to list them as such in the ingredient list. Again, the USDA Organic logo may not be used.

In all of the cases above, the ingredient list on the label must identify organic ingredients as “organic” when any other organic labeling is used.

(The cereal box images below were produced by the USDA as examples of correct organic labeling.)