How to Buy Eggs: What Do Organic, Cage-Free and Free-Range Labels Mean?

Watch: How to Buy Free Range Eggs

Buying a simple carton of eggs, like a lot of things in life, has gotten more complicated. Here’s how to understand what all those words on the carton mean so you can decide which matter.

Cage-free:Means the hens can roam in a building, room or open area instead of a battery cage, a 16x20-inch cage that houses up to 11 birds. It does not necessarily mean that hens have access to the outdoors. Nor does it indicate how much room they have to move around.

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Grade:Refers to the quality of theegg. Most consumers won’t notice much of a difference among the grades. You’ll most likely see Grade A, which means the shells are unstained, the yolks are free from defects and they have a “reasonably” clear and thick white.

Size:Refers to the weight of wholeeggsper dozen. (EatingWell almost always calls for large eggs in recipes.)

Pasteurized:If you want to consume them raw, pasteurized eggs are a smart choice. They are heated in their shells to a temperature just high enough to destroy pathogens like Salmonella.

Hormone-free:This label is on many cartons, but no laying hens are given hormones.

Vegetarian-fed:The eggs come from hens that were fed a vegetarian diet, a controversial practice as chickens are not naturally vegetarian.

No added antibioticsAlso written as “no antibiotics administered.” It means the hens were not given antibiotics in their feed or water.

Animal welfare certification label:They all prohibit forced molting through starvation, a practice that’s used to temporarily increase egg production and quality. But the “Animal Welfare Approved” program is the only one that forbids beak cutting, a common practice to ensure birds don’t peck at each other. This label also ensures that hens have continuous access to the outdoors and are able to nest, perch and dust-bathe. Standards of the other programs vary.

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