Federated Co-op Limited has adapted an egg quality program designed to further consumers’ trust in products.
In a partnership with Egg Farmers of Canada, FCL will put the Egg Quality Assurance certification mark on select egg cartons in co-op food stores in Western Canada this month.
Featuring a red Canadian maple leaf inside an egg, the EQA symbol shows customers that their eggs are produced locally by Canadian farmers following animal welfare and food safety standards.
“(EQA) allows consumers a quick and easy way to identify the eggs that have been certified by the Egg Farmers of Canada on a number of different requirements, from food safety, animal welfare, which is out in the news a lot,” said Sav Bellissimo, store manager at FCL.
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To get the EQA seal of approval, all eggs will have met the standards issued by the Egg Farmers of Canada’s national Start Clean-Stay Clean and animal care programs.
“It provides the reassurance to consumers that every farmer across Canada is following the production standards, animal welfare standards, no matter of housing types,” said Roger Pelissero, chair of Egg Farmers of Canada and an egg farmer in southern Ontario.
“Consumers can be assured of that and they’re (industry) audited by us and then we’re also third-party audited,” he said.
In July, McDonald’s Canada became the largest fast-food restaurant to use the EQA certification mark.
Some smaller retailers in Ontario and Quebec have been adapting it, but it’s now starting to gain traction heading west.
