The Welsh Government has launched a public consultation on the derogation period in egg and poultry meat marketing standards legislation in Wales.
If adopted it would introduce a change to Regulation 598/2008 (eggs marketing) to remove the 16-week time limit on the derogation period so that eggs can continue to be labelled as free range throughout the duration of a mandatory housing measure;
The consultation is being conducted over a 6-week period and will close Monday, 9 September. “The shorter consultation period reflects the relative urgency of some of the issues under consideration,” said a statement from the Welsh Government. “This is due to timing. Should the Welsh Government decide to change the law, it would aim to make the changes before the expiry of 12 weeks from the imposition of any mandatory housing measures imposed in relation to Wales’.”
The consultation can be accessed here: https://www.gov.wales/free-range-egg-and-poultry-meat-marketing-standards
Responses can be made online or downloading the questions and emailing the response as well as returning by post.
The BEIC have been lobbying the Welsh government for over twelve months now to publish a consultation (and follows the Defra and Scottish government consultation launched on 9 January 2024).
The BEIC said it encouraged all producers and packers to complete the consultation. “Achieving an ‘open ended’ approach in Wales, in the event of a Housing Order, is critically important to the egg sector.”