Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

FOOD

Denmark to ban caged egg production by 2035

Denmark is to follow a rule banning new cage egg farms from next year with a total ban on the farming method by 2035.

Published: 22 September 2022 13:52 CEST

Denmark to ban caged egg production by 2035

Denmark is to completely phased out eggs from cage hens. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix

In a statement, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries said that is would ban new cage egg farms from next year.

A full ban will come into place following a 12-year transitional period to “ensure proper conversion of production”, the ministry said.

“We wanted to phase out cage eggs as soon as possible. But we have a genuine responsibility to producers of cage eggs,” the agriculture minister, Rasmus Prehn, told news wire Ritzau.

The 12-year transition will avoid instances of expropriation by giving farmers time to fund and make the switch, according to Prehn.

Supermarket Lidl chose to remove cage eggs from its shelves as long ago as 2015, according to broadcaster DR. Other supermarket chains including Coop and Dansk Supermarked have since followed that decision, meaning most supermarkets in Denmark no longer stock eggs from hens in cages.

The EU banned battery cages in 2012, but hens can still be kept in larger cages, termed “enriched” or “furnished” cages, for the production of eggs, in line with the EU directive that banned battery production.

Production of cage eggs in Denmark has fallen from 61 percent of total egg production in 2010 to 13 percent in 2021, according to DR.

That is an underestimate in comparison to the ministry press release, which states that seven producers of cage eggs in Denmark were responsible for 17 percent of Denmark’s total egg production last year.

While most supermarkets have stopped selling cage eggs, they are still often used by restaurants, catering businesses, food factories and pharmaceutical companies, the ministry states.

“Cage hens live – as the name suggests – their whole lives in small cages with limited space to flap their wings. Denmark is in many ways a forefront country within agriculture, and this must also be the case when it comes to animal welfare,” Prehn said in the press statement.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Danish government to ban import of clothes containing 'forever chemical' PFAS

The decision to cut out PFAS in imported and Danish clothing products was announced by the Ministry of Environment in a statement.

“A national ban on the import and sale of clothes, shoes and waterproofing agents with PFAS is an important step on the way to limiting its emissions and will have a genuine environmental effect in Denmark,” Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke said in the statement.

READ ALSO: Danish government criticised for failure to reduce PFAS contamination

Clothing, shoes and waterproofing agents are among the largest sources of PFAS in Denmark’s environment, according to the ministry.

Non-PFAS containing products are available as alternative options on the market, making a ban viable, it said in the statement.

An exception would apply for professional and safety clothing, which have different safety and functionality standards.

Project leader with the consumer interest group Forbrugerrådet Tænk, Claus Jørgensen, praised the announcement but said he would prefer the ban to be extended to child strollers, furniture and carpets.

The national ban would apply until any EU ban on PFAS in products comes into force, the ministry said.

Business organisations raised concerns over enforcement of a ban that would apply in Denmark but not the EU.

“Shops and retailers trade on the international market, where there is no production specifically for Denmark,” the Danish Chamber of Commerce’s environment and circular economy manager Anette Ejersted said.

“We therefore want to see the final proposal to assess how it will affect the retail trade in Denmark,” she said.

The government is expected to prepare an executive order for the ban by July 1st next year, with a one-year phasing in period, making it effective from July 2026. It will not apply to products purchased before this date.

What are PFAS?

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a large group of synthetic chemicals used in various products since the early 1950s. Their past uses include foam in fire extinguishers, food packaging and in textiles, carpets and paints. Also known as ‘forever chemicals’, they persist in water and soil and can cause harm to human health.

Due to their chemical properties, they take a long time to break down and can be found in very low concentrations in blood samples from populations all over the world.

They are, however, unwanted in the environment because they have been found to have concerning links to health complications. Their use in materials which come into contact with foods, like paper and card, has been banned in Denmark since 2020.

PFAS have been linked to a series of health complications and, if ingested in high enough amounts, are suspected of causing liver damage, kidney damage, elevated cholesterol levels, reduced fertility, hormonal disturbances, weaker immune systems, negatively affecting foetal development and being carcinogenic.

Url copied to clipboard!