Free-range and organic egg producer Pete and Gerry’s LLC announced a new line of pasture-raised eggs in April 2023.
The new brand is certified under Humane Farm Animal Care’s (HFAC) Certified Humane pasture raised welfare standards, which is defined as a management system where adult birds are kept on pasture 12 months of the year in an outside area that is mainly covered with living vegetation.
The pasture-raised brand was launched six months after Pete and Gerry’s announced Tom Flocco as its new CEO on October 3, 2022.
In addition to the new offering, the producer said its organic and pasture-raised products now display the claim “healthy” on its packaging. While the new packaging technically makes Pete and Gerry’s the first national egg brand to feature the language since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) proposed guideline revisions were introduced in October 2022, the claim is not officially approved yet.
However, the producer is confident that the ruling will be finalized and that its packaging updates will help resolve consumer confusion concerning the health status of eggs.
The “healthy” claim
In October 2022, the FDA proposed a revised definition of what a “healthy food” consists of. However, the definition is not a finalized rule yet.
The proposed definition revised the “healthy” claim to better account for how nutrients in different food groups work together to create healthy dietary patterns and impact health. Additionally, the rule removed the limit on dietary cholesterol, which is no longer deemed a nutrient of public health concern.
In the past, the cholesterol in eggs was perceived as an unhealthy addition to include in your daily diet. However, research from dozens of universities and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed that consuming eggs daily is recommended for healthy eating patterns.
In 2020, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans Advisory Committee even recommended eggs as an important first food for infants and toddlers less than 24 months old, as well as for pregnant and lactating women.
