Egg carton ad targeted

In a rare action, the Better Business Bureau last week turned a complaint against the United Egg Producers over to the Federal Trade Commission, saying the “Animal Care Certified Eggs” seals egg producers put on egg cartons nationwide are misleading advertising.

Last year, in a decision appealed by the egg producers, the BBB recommended discontinuing use of the seal, which appears on the cartons and in other advertising.

This time BBB’s national advertising review board again ruled against the egg producers, saying the seals give the impression the eggs are produced by hens “accorded a more humane level of care than is actually the case,” according to the report.

“There’s great potential for consumers, especially consumers who care about this issue, to be misled,” says David Mallen, an attorney with BBB’s National Advertising Division, the self-regulatory arm of the advertising industry.

In its ruling, the division said the seal’s wording would need to be changed to avoid misleading consumers.

Other smaller and more stringent animal welfare seal programs include fairly detailed information about exactly what their seal means on all packaging that carries it. Consumers pay more for products carrying such seals.

The original complaint was filed by Compassion over Killing, an animal rights group.

The United Egg Producers were among the first to institute industry standards for the care of laying hens. These led to higher standards overall. Each hen is required to have a cage area at least the size of a sheet of notebook paper.

Starvation to promote renewed laying and beak trimming at 10 days or younger still are allowed.

The UEP standards, which today cover 85 percent of U.S. laying hens, were a giant leap forward in the standard of care of hens, says spokesman Mitch Head. The logo tells consumers that the egg producer is “doing the right thing, adhering to a set of industry standards.”