Animal rights groups, like Animal Justice, are pushing for caged and cage-free signage in the grocery store. Not only on the egg cartons themselves, but on the shelves.
The motivation behind it is, that if consumers see a sign with a few bullet points comparing the differences between how caged and cage-free layers are housed, the consumer purchasing decision will be influenced and more people will purchase cage-free eggs over conventional.
One company in the U.S. is even running a study to see if consumers are impacted by the signs.
In 2023, discount chain Dollar Tree completed phase one of its cage-free egg sales test, in which it used signage in the refrigerated section of 63 of its stores to help consumers identify which eggs were from cage-free or caged hens. While it did not give specifics on how it measured the results of the pilot, Dollar Tree said the outcome of the study was positive and, based on sales and customer interest, that it would be expanding the pilot to hundreds of additional stores in 2024.
Cage-free signage in grocery stores also came up in April 2023, when Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sent a letter to the CEO of grocery chain Kroger Co. urging the company to add caged and cage-free egg signage to their stores.
The letter was sent after a report called “Cracking down on Kroger,” written by the division chief of Nessel’s office Jason Evans, showed that the majority of consumers are confused about which eggs are caged and which are cage-free, according to a study conducted by Data for Progress.
In the letter, Evans says that Kroger shoppers are being misled into buying eggs from caged hens thinking they are cage-free, specifically because product labels such as “Farm Fresh” and “Grade A” are confusing for consumers. As a result, the report asks Kroger to add clear signage in its stores to help consumers understand which eggs are cage-free.
After the report was published, Nessel added that grocery shoppers should be able to trust advertising and that grocers should be transparent with their marketing.
In response to the situation during an interview with new station Local 4, a spokesperson for Kroger stated: “The Kroger Company of Michigan complies with all current state regulations regarding the sale of egg products. All Kroger Family of Companies egg products are clearly marked and labeled for customers to readily decipher among our product selection.”
You have to side with Kroger on this, because its right, all its eggs are properly labelled. Just because a consumer does not know what a product label like “Grade A” means, doesn’t mean Kroger is in the wrong. I highly recommend that consumers do their own research on all the foods they consume, not just eggs, and decide what will best meet their needs.
In a year, signage won’t even matter for Michigan residents because the state’s cage-free housing law will go into effect in January 2025, making cage-free eggs the only option for consumers to purchase.
