Egg Info - Know your Codes

A helpful guide for anyone feeling bewildered by all the different kinds of eggs on sale is given by the code printed on each egg: the first figure in the code is the most important one since it indicates the kind of conditions the hens are kept in.

0 = Organic (1 hen per 10 sqm of open land with vegetation)
1= Free Range (1 hen per 2.5 sqm of open land with vegetation)
2= Barn (7 hens per 1 sqm of ground covered in straw or sand - in windowless barns)
3= Cages (25 hens per sqm)

90% of Italian eggs come from cage-reared hens