BATTERY eggs could soon be banned from schools, care homes and canteens in Liverpool.
Labour councillor Nick Small has requested the council adopt a policy of only buying free-range or barn eggs.
Battery eggs will be banned in 2012 when a European Union Directive comes into force setting minimum standards for laying hens.
Cllr Small, who represents the city’s Central ward, said the council should do away with battery eggs ahead of the ban to set an example.
Last night, he said: “Animal welfare is a really important issue. We have a chance to use the city council to promote a wider initiative”.
The council buys between 50,000 and 60,000 eggs each year from its catering supplier Brakes Bros.
It is understood the contract includes a free-range option as well as standard battery eggs, although there is currently no policy that solely free-range or barn eggs should be purchased.
Last night, deputy council leader Cllr Flo Clucas, who also oversees finance and European issues, said: “We are happy to look at this issue and for a report to be prepared on it.
“However, it has to be recognised that we are constrained by legal requirements on procurement in relation to best value.”
It is not known how much the move would cost taxpayers, but when Wirral introduced this policy in January it was estimated it would add £5,000 to the local authority’s food bill.
Last night, Cllr Small said: “We put ourselves forward as a fair trade council, and that should include using free-range or barn eggs.
“Some of the eggs the council uses are already free-range, but they should all be.”
Cllr Small has put forward a motion to Liverpool’s Corporate Services select committee meeting on Wednesday, January 7.
The motion states: “This select committee notes the cruelty inflicted on hens in the production of battery-farmed eggs and notes that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs estimates that currently 62% of eggs produced in the UK are from battery farms, 32% are free range and 6% are barn-free.
“This select committee welcomes the proposals from the government to support the EU-wide ban of battery-farmed eggs by 2012.
“This select committee requests that the executive member for finance [Cllr Flo Clucas] and Europe brings forward a procurement policy as soon as possible to ensure that only free-range and barn-free eggs are supplied to the city council, and that such a policy also considers the sourcing of ingredients used by the city council in egg related products such as cake mixes, noodles, mayonnaise and bouillon for gravy.”
davidbartlett
