With soaring prices and many varieties of eggs, you want to make sure you’re getting what you think you’re paying for. Consumer Reports deciphers those confusing egg labels and explains what they mean.

Cage-free means that the hens are not kept in cages, but it doesn’t mean they’re clucking around in the fresh air and sunshine. They can still be kept indoors, often in crowded conditions.

An organic label means eggs come from hens fed grains without synthetic pesticides or GMOs. The birds cannot be raised in cages or given antibiotics. They must have some outdoor access. There’s no standard definition of pastured-raised. However, the Certified Humane or the American Humane Certified labels require chickens to have access to a pasture with enough space for natural behaviors, like pecking for seeds and bugs.

Free-range birds are not kept in cages and have outdoor access, but they can still be raised in crowded conditions, and the outdoor area can be tiny.

Consumer Reports says the words farm fresh and natural are basically meaningless. All eggs come from “farms,” even if the farm is a big building where chickens are packed into cages. So, this labeling claim has no value. The term “fresh” generally means the product hasn’t been frozen, but eggs in the shell should never be frozen. Also, an egg is a natural food product, so slapping “natural” on it has no clearly defined additional meaning.

With eggs fast becoming an egg-stravagant splurge, knowing precisely what you’re paying for is essential!

Don’t be so quick to throw out expired eggs. The USDA says eggs may be refrigerated for three to five weeks from the day they are placed in the fridge. The “Sell-By” date will usually expire during that time, but they will be perfectly safe to use.

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