ACCC lets free-range egg producers keep label despite indoor housing amid bird-flu scare

The ACCC has prolonged its pause on enforcing free-range egg labelling, permitting farms that have moved hens indoors for H5 bird-flu protection to continue using free-range packaging.

Amid an escalating H5 bird-flu outbreak, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has extended its suspension of enforcement actions against free-range egg labelling breaches, allowing producers who have moved flocks indoors to keep using free-range cartons. Deputy chair Mick Keogh said the onus is on growers to notify retailers and consumers, recommending shelf signage or carton stickers to explain the situation.

The agency noted that while the virus has not yet entered Australian poultry farms, the spread among wild birds heightens the risk. Egg farmer Zac Jeffries, whose Providore Farm in south-west Victoria lacks indoor facilities, voiced concerns about misleading labels and urged temporary label modifications. South Australia’s chief veterinarian, Dr Skye Fruean, indicated that mandatory indoor-housing orders remain under consideration and would trigger a 90-day limit on the ACCC’s pause. No definitive timeline for ending the enforcement exemption has been announced.