Here’s a quick guide to the best and worst free-range eggs you’ll find in the supermarkets.
Woolworths
If you’re shopping at Woolies, here are some of the best and worst egg brands you may find in your local store. Please note that availability of certain brands varies in supermarkets across Australia so some may not be mentioned here.
The best free-range eggs at Woolworths:
- Yallamundi Farm: 750 hens/hectare
- Woolworths Macro Organic: 1500 hens/hectare
- Sunny Queen: 1500 hens/hectare
- Sunny Queen Organic: 1500 hens/hectare
- Josh’s Rainbow Eggs: 1500 hens/hectare
- Happy Hens Organic: 1500 hens/hectare
- Ecoeggs Free Range: 1500 hens/hectare
- Canobolas: 1500 hens/hectare
- Flanno’s Free Range: 1500 hens/hectare
- Golden Eggs: 1500 hens/hectare
- pace farm free range
- Pace Farm free-range eggs. Stocking density: 10,000 hens per hectare.
The worst free-range eggs at Woolworths:
- Pace Farm: 10,000 hens/hectare
- Woolworths Select: 10,000 hens/hectare
- Port Stephens: 10,000 hens/hectare
- Veggs for Families: 10,000 hens/hectare
- Country Fresh: 10,000 hens/hectare
- Sun Valley: 10,000 hens/hectare
- Valley Brook: 10,000 hens/hectare
Coles
When you’re shopping at Coles, look out for these good eggs and bad eggs that you may find in your local store. Please note that availability of certain brands varies in supermarkets across Australia so some may not be mentioned here.
The best free-range eggs at Coles:
- Hens of the Earth Eggs: 500 hens/hectare
- Family Homestead: 750 hens/hectare
- Sunny Queen Free Range Eggs: 1500 hens/hectare
- Sunny Queen Organic: 1500 hens/hectare
- Lucky Chicken Eggs: 1500 hens/hectare
- Coles Certified Organic: 1500 hens/hectare
- Flanno’s Free Range: 1500 hens/hectare
- Golden Eggs Free Range: 1500 hens/hectare
- The Good Farmer: 1500 hens/hectare
- Bloom Free Range: 1500 hens/hectare
- Margaret River Free Range: 1500 hens/hectare
- coles free range
- Coles free-range eggs. Stocking density: 10,000 hens per hectare.
The worst free-range eggs at Coles:
- Coles Free Range Eggs: 10,000 hens/hectare
- Pace Farm: 10,000 hens/hectare
- Veggs for Families: 10,000 hens/hectare
- Day’s Eggs: 10,000 hens/hectare
- McLaren Vale Free Range: 10,000 hens/hectare
- Tassie Devil: 10,000 hens/hectare
- Valley Brook: 10,000 hens/hectare
Free-range eggs at Aldi
Aldi only stocks one brand of free-range eggs: Lodge Farm. While this producer’s stocking density (just!) meets the government standard, it’s nowhere near meeting the Model Code.
Aldi’s Lodge Farm Free Range Eggs have a stocking density of 10,000 hens per hectare. They may be cheap at $3.99 a dozen, but they’re certainly not what we would call true free-range eggs.
IGA
As IGA supermarkets are independently owned, the free-range egg brands they stock differ from suburb to suburb. Here are some of the brands we were able to track down.
The best free-range eggs at IGA:
- Emu Creek: 1500 hens/hectare
The worst free-range eggs at IGA:
- IGA Signature: this producer does not publicly state their stocking density and has failed to give us this information, so we can’t say whether their eggs are actually free-range or not.
- Community Co: 10,000 hens/hectare
How to make sure the free-range eggs you’re buying are really free-range
If you’re dissatisfied with the offerings at your local Coles or Woolworths, how can you get hold of truly free-range eggs? Here are a few suggestions:
- Shop direct from the producers, such as at farmers’ markets or by organising a buying group to source eggs from a true free-range producer.
- Go to independent stores like organic grocers and ask them about their suppliers’ stocking densities.
- Get your own chooks! If you have a backyard large enough, chooks can be a reasonably low-maintenance pet, and if you only have a few, you’ll have access to genuine free-range eggs on a regular basis.
