United Egg Producers (UEP), a trade association representing many US egg farmers, has developed a new working relationship with the American Humane Association, dedicated to protecting both children and animals.
Under terms of the agreement, UEP will recognise American Humane Certifiedâ„¢ animal welfare audits as also meeting UEP Certified standards if those egg producers also meet some additional criteria.
The American Humane Certified programme, which is the nation’s first and original animal-welfare label attesting to the humane treatment of animals involved in food production, establishes guidelines for the production of eggs from hens in cage-free and free-range farm systems, while the UEP Certified programme provides science-based guidelines for the production of eggs from hens either in modern cage production housing systems or cage-free farm systems.
Terms of the agreement state that an egg farmer who passes the American Humane Certified audit pays the fees and is a member in good standing with the UEP Certified Program and meets the UEP guidelines on 100% of their egg production, can then use the UEP Certified logo and market those eggs as UEP Certified in addition to marketing them as American Humane Certified and using the American Humane Certified logo. The advantage to an egg farmer is that they would not have to undergo and pay for a second audit of their farm, as UEP will accept the American Humane Certified animal welfare audit.
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