05/28/2026
Let’s talk about eggs! Raise your hand if you ever get confused when shopping for eggs. I’m sure we have all felt a bit bewildered at all the different choices. Let’s look at what all these different labels mean and decide which ones are marketing gimmicks and which ones are worth paying more for.
The first thing you may notice is the grading on the egg carton. Commercial egg producers voluntarily allow the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to grade their eggs. Egg graders are trained to visually inspect eggs. The three grades include AA, A and B. Grade AA is an ideal egg including clean, unbroken shells with clear whites and firm yokes. Grade A is slightly less perfect. Grade B eggs may have either an abnormal shape or color, may be a little runnier, may contain blood spots or a smaller yoke. While all these grades are safe to eat, you may want to use them for different purposes. For example, a restaurant may want to use grade AA eggs to display the perfect looking fried egg. Grade A might be better used for scrambling and grade B eggs are often used for liquid eggs in a carton or dried for baking purposes. Most of the differences are rarely noticed by the consumer and are mostly due to the age of the egg. When is doubt, check the packaging date on the carton. When kept cool, store-bought eggs should be used within 4-5 weeks of the packaging date.
The next thing we notice is all the different labels on the cartons. Keep in mind that even though antibiotics are often present in grower feed, it is against the law to inject hormones or antibiotics into the chickens so looking for a brand that displays that label is unnecessary. The “regular” or standard eggs may not have a label at all. These eggs come from chickens that are raised in large commercial farms and are often kept in small battery cages stacked on top of one another with their wings and beaks clipped. “Cage free” sounds a little more humane but it still isn’t idea. They are overcrowded and still do not receive adequate sunlight or have access to grass for foraging. “Free Range” sounds wonderful but the qualifications to earn this label only require they spend a portion of their life outside. Unfortunately, this could literally mean just hours or moments. “Organic” may be worth the extra cost since you are promised the food that was fed to the hen was not ladened with chemicals. Although it is not guaranteed, “organic” egg producers tend to provide better living conditions as well. “Pasture raise” eggs are probably the ideal purchase next to raising your own chickens or getting them from a local farmer. “Pasture raised” usually means the chickens were able to roam in an outdoor pasture at will. Typically, these chickens were fed an organic diet and were allowed to forage for bugs and soak up the sunlight.
The ideal egg is one that was laid by a healthy hen. Sunlight provides Vitamin D and is essential for the immune system to help prevent diseases like salmonella. Chickens are considered omnivores which means they eat both plant and animal matter. Foraging in an outdoor pasture provides the most natural food source of bugs and edible plants. Chickens who are allowed to forage, even for a couple of hours a day, will often be healthier and lay better than chickens who are fed commercially grown food. Choosing our food wisely will help us be healthier as well.
