Vocal Voices

On Sunday I popped into my local farm shop to buy some eggs. I usually get their regular free range ones that they have in stacks of those large egg trays that you then pack them into smaller egg boxes yourself. However just above that lot I saw some Organic free range eggs and on the box it says they're packed for a place called Chapel Farm which is in Normandy, so just down the road from me. Perfect I thought - ticks all the right boxes; organic and free range and local.

But got home and had a look at the egg stamp (which I often do) and noticed that the 2nd and 3rd character of the stamp that indicate the country of origin were FR and not UK as I'd have thought they were. Chapel Farm have their own website giving contact details so I sent them an email asking if that was right and this is the reply I got:

Dear Ria,

Thank you for your email.

We have recently been unable to source Organic UK eggs from our usual supplier. They are experiencing a shortage.
As indicated, the origin of the eggs you have is France. As soon as our supplier is able to provide us with UK organic, we will use these and not have to supplement with French organic.

Please contact me if you require any other information.

Kind regards,

Jo Lilly

hmm, so how does that work with trying to support local farmers, but local produce from a local farm shop etc... never mind the food miles. At least the eggs are stamped that they are organic, but that's about it.

Oh well... I think I'll be doing some asking around if anyone locally to me has their own hens at home so I can buy their eggs; at least then I do know what I'm getting and paying for

and to add - the bit about sourcing their organic eggs from their usual supplier is also a bit odd.... makes me think that Chapel Farm is just one large packing facility despite their website saying they have their own hens

You're right to feel cheated Meriad, especially as no doubt you paid a fair bit more to get your 'local, organic' eggs
They should really have a note by them shouldn't they

I'd be feeling the same Ria.

My work colleague keeps hens that lay the biggest most delicious eggs - I won't buy from a supermarket again as long as I can get these.

I pay €2 for 12 and am more than happy with that price.

that is a super good price Ally - I paid £2.10 for six of these! Which I hasten to add I don't mind paying if that means the chicken has (hopefully still has) a good quality of life.

We used to have someone up the road advertise eggs for sale but not sure if they're there any more - need to go and have a look I'd much prefer to buy direct from someone local. In fact I absolutely would LOVE to have my own chickens but not sure I'll have the time they need? Besides which - I'm sure my cats will be totally fascinated

Wish I could help but eggs by post isn't a good business idea

miasmum wrote:Wish I could help but eggs by post isn't a good business idea

that made me giggle Shell - could you imagine the mess that would be

I would be furious.

I buy all my eggs (when they are laying) from our neighbour who keeps chickens at their smallholding. £1 for half a dozen - dirt cheap.

We have a Farm at the end of our road and it now has a farm shop. I bought my eggs from them for ages as they were labelled "Eggs from our own hens" and there were always hens walking round the farm yard, free range as it were. When I asked if the eggs were free range they always pointed at the chickens and said "you can't get more free range than that!" However I was talking to one of the farm workers and he told me that the eggs sold were Barn Eggs, they kept loads of chickens cooped up in a barn and they laid their eggs there. That was the last time i bought my free range eggs there.

I don't know when I started but I usually always check the stamp on the egg before buying them.... it's always made up of 8 digits, the first indicates what type of egg it is

0 - organic
1 - free range
2 - barn
3 - caged

then the next two are the letters of the country of origin and then the next five are the ID of the farm they come from


Debih, I definitely will be trying to source and buy very local to me again; the taste is just so much better