Free range eggs from indoor hens

EGGS produced by cooped-up chickens will still be labelled free range despite measures imposed in the wake of a European bird flu outbreak.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has told farmers to keep poultry inside or away from wild birds.

The H5N8 strain has been found on farms in France, Germany and Sweden, and there are fears wild birds could bring it here.

The indoor policy was reported earlier this week to have affected turkeys, meaning expensive ‘free range’ turkeys on the Christmas table may not be free range at all.

On Tuesday, Defra said: ‘As a precaution, and to allow time for poultry and captive birdkeepers to put in place appropriate biosecurity measures, we have declared a 30-day prevention zone.’

Under European regulations, if birds are kept inside to protect public and animal health, producers can retain free range status for up to 12 weeks. It means if the measures are extended, British consumers could be buying free range eggs from hens that have spent up to three months inside.

The British Free Range Producers Association said the precautions were ‘necessary’. Its head, Robert Gooch, said: ‘It would be devastating for a British producer to have to go through the heartbreak of seeing their entire flock wiped out by this virus.’