Egg marking

An egg mark may contain a number of information parts - in the EU only the producer code is required.

Other information may contain the method of production especially in the non-EU world where the numbered levels do not apply.

[1] In most countries there are legal definitions on the designation of the egg size, production method, packager identification and best-before dates.

In the European Union these levels have strict minimum requirements:[3] Some countries had banned battery cages before the EU regulation was enacted, for example in Austria by 2009 and in Germany by 2010.

Instead there are higher organic farming standards (e.g. Demeter or Bioland) that can not be expressed in the established egg code system.

Egg marking on free-range eggs in the United Kingdom (code 1UK)
German organic eggs with only the EU egg code
A diagram showing amount of m2 per 13 hens for different levels: from 3 (left) to 0 (right).
Amount of m² per 13 hens