Who We Are:

We are egg farmers who care about our hens. We are not factory farms. In fact, many of us grew up on farms and are fortunate enough to continue the family business started by our parents, grandparents, and even great grandparents. We are committed to responsible farming, and we stand behind our promise to our customers to deliver the safest, highest quality eggs in the world while maintaining the highest standards of care for our hens.
 
As egg farmers, we care about the welfare of our hens. This care provides our customers with the safest and best quality eggs in the world.

Food Safety:

Egg farmers are committed to producing the safe, nutritious eggs, and the likelihood of getting a foodborne illness from eggs is very low.  When you handle eggs with care, they pose no greater food-safety risk than any other perishable food. You can ensure that your eggs will maintain their high quality and safety by using good hygiene, cooking, refrigeration and handling practices.
 
If bacteria are allowed to grow in or on food without being killed (usually by heat) before eating, foodborne illness can result. However, in the rare event that an egg contains bacteria, you can reduce the risk by proper chilling and eliminate it by proper cooking.
 
The way food is processed and prepared is important because all foods have the ability to carry microorganisms (like bacteria and viruses) that can cause illness.
 
Along with other food and food-related organizations as well as government food and education agencies, egg farmers are members of the Partnership for Food Safety Education. This unique industry and government coalition has the aim of informing consumers about safe food-handling practices through the Fight BAC!™ campaign. By following these recommendations to clean, separate, cook and chill, you can help prevent foodborne illness. www.fightbac.org
 
Antibiotics and Hormones in Egg Farming:

Whether it says so on the carton or not, laying hens (hens raised to produce eggs) do not receive hormones in any form. 
 
Low levels of antibiotics are occasionally, but only rarely, used to prevent disease and ensure the health of laying hens, just as for humans. Very few antibiotics are permitted and there is an economic incentive not to use them due to the additional cost. Antibiotics are not used as a matter of routine with laying hens. Rather, they are used only if the birds become ill – a rare occurrence because hens have to be healthy to produce eggs.
 
Because so few antibiotics are used and are used to such a small degree, they aren’t likely to contribute to the problem of antibiotic resistance.

Animal Well-Being:

Egg producers care about the welfare of our hens. Providing for our animals’ well-being is not just the right thing to do, it helps us produce the quality products our customers demand.

Consumers and retailers concerned about animal welfare can now easily spot eggs produced
using new animal care guidelines.   The United Egg Producers Certified logo now appears on egg cartons nationwide.  This certification logo, introduced by the United Egg Producers, means the eggs with this seal come from farms that adhere to new animal care guidelines. Egg producers representing more than 240 million layers or 85 percent of the industry have already signed on to participate in the program.

The guidelines are based on recommendations from an independent scientific advisory committee commissioned in 1999 to review the treatment of egg-producing hens. The committee included representatives from the USDA, the American Humane Association, leading animal scientists and academics.  Farmers participating in the program are audited by USDA and Validus yearly through an independent certification program to ensure the new standards are being met.

The guidelines place top priority on the comfort, health and safety of the chickens and include:

• Increased cage space per hen, which is being phased in to avoid market disruptions.

• Standards for non-feed withdrawal molting procedures based on the most current, verified
scientific studies.

• Standards for trimming of chicks’ beaks, when necessary, to avoid pecking and cannibalism.

• Maintaining constant supply of fresh feed, water and air ventilation throughout the chicken house and monitoring for ammonia.

• Standards for daily inspection of each bird as well proper handling and transportation.

• Availability of a new training video to instruct producer staffs on the proper handling of chickens
to avoid injury to the animals.
 
Environmental Stewardship:

The U.S. egg industry and all of agriculture play an important role protecting and enhancing our environment.

The United Egg Producers (UEP) represent more than 255 million laying hens, or more than 90% of all U.S. egg production.  Egg producers have always worked to reduce our environmental footprint and to be good stewards to neighbors, consumers and others.

UEP has taken a positive, proactive approach in addressing environmental challenges.  Recently, UEP and other livestock organizations negotiated the Air Compliance Agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that will benefit the environment by generating the data needed to effectively regulate air emissions from animal feeding operations.  The voluntary agreement provides:

• A two-year on-farm monitoring study funded by the industry that will produce up to date
emissions data.

• A consent agreement that releases participating producers from EPA liability for past emissions and assures them that data collected in the study will not be used against them in litigation brought by state and federal agencies.

Egg producers, through the American Egg Board, have contributed nearly $3 million to the air emissions study.  Egg producers believe that finding baseline emissions data as a baseline for regulations is only part of the answer, finding solutions to the challenges of air emissions should be the ultimate goal of this study.

To further our goal of finding solutions to the environmental challenges faced in egg production, UEP has also established an Environmental Scientific Panel (ESP).  The ESP is made up of five university scientists, two USDA representatives, two allied company representatives and three egg producers.  The ESP will develop strategies and management practices to address emerging environmental concerns.  The goal is to find solutions over the next few years that will be economical and feasible, so every egg producer can implement them.

By contributing nearly $3 million to the air emissions study and by establishing the ESP, egg producers have demonstrated their commitment to being good stewards of the environment.  We will continue to work in public and private partnerships to conserve and protect our precious
natural resources.