Views sought on egg and poultrymeat marketing rules in Wales
© Tim Scrivener The Welsh government has launched a public consultation on the grace periods in egg and poultrymeat marketing standards legislation for Wales.
The consultation, which will close on Monday 9 September, seeks opinions about whether to make changes to the law concerning marketing of free-range eggs and free-range poultrymeat.
The proposed changes will simplify the regulation of the labelling of free-range eggs and free-range poultrymeat, so that they can be marketed as such for the duration of mandatory housing measures, for example during outbreaks of avian influenza.
See also: Free-range eggs to be protected in event of prolonged housing
NFU Cymru has been calling for the removal of grace periods for marketing products as free-range when birds are housed for more than 16 weeks for eggs and 12 weeks for poultrymeat.
If adopted, the consultation would introduce a change to Regulation 598/2008 (eggs marketing) to remove the 16-week derogation period, so that eggs can continue to be labelled as free-range throughout the duration of a compulsory housing requirement under Avian Influenza prevention measures, and would be the case only during an AI outbreak.
An amendment to Regulation 543/2008 (poultrymeat marketing) would also see the removal of the 12-week derogation that would enable poultrymeat to be labelled as free-range for the duration of any mandatory housing measures.
A similar consultation by the governments in England and Scotland concluded just before the general election and is awaiting new ministerial steer.
National approach needed
NFU Cymru policy adviser Dafydd Jarrett said: “We are encouraging members to submit a response to this consultation so that there can be a national approach to legislation and any potential housing measures if needed.
“We will be submitting our own response outlining the importance of this GB approach.”
Responses can be made online via the Welsh government’s website, or by downloading the questions and emailing the response, as well as returning it by post.
The British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) is strongly encouraging all producers and packers to complete the consultation, as achieving an “open ended” approach in Wales, in the event of a Housing Order, is critically important to the egg sector.