25 June 2019
Introducing Trace My Egg – the egg stamping programme
The EPF is the proud to manage the nationwide egg stamping programme: ‘Trace My Egg’. Trace My Egg is a source-assurance initiative that spans the egg industry in New Zealand. It is recognisable by its 5-digit codes which are stamped onto the shells of eggs.
These codes can be used to trace eggs back to the farm they originated from simply by going to the Trace My Egg website (www.tracemyegg.co.nz) and entering the 5-digit code from the egg shell into the websites Trace It! function. The site is mobile-friendly and doesn’t require any apps or downloads to trace eggs, so you can even use it to trace their eggs in the supermarket before they buy them! All that is needed is an internet connection and an internet-capable device to access the site.
About source assurance
Voluntary for the industry and supported across all farming production methods, this robust and interactive egg stamping programme is putting control into the hands of consumers by providing ability to trace their stamped eggs right back to the farm that they came from. Source assurance is important to New Zealanders and the EPF’s Trace My Egg is the first industry-led, industry-wide source assurance programme in the primary sector in New Zealand.
What’s in a stamp?
Egg stamps contain two parts – a two-digit alpha code for easy recognition of the farm production method and a 3-digit numerical farm code which takes traceability beyond carton branding, and is used to identify the exact farm the egg was laid at and the location of that farm. All participating farms must stamp at the farm source.
How many eggs will be traceable?
To date, the farms signed up to the Trace My Egg programme collectively provide more than 70 per cent of the eggs that are supplied to New Zealand supermarkets!
Terms of participation
Participating farmers using the “Trace My Egg” stamping system have agreed to uphold strict terms and conditions, including:
- Trust: only eggs that are laid on participating farms will be stamped with the farm’s unique identification code.
- Transparency: eggs will be accurately stamped with the production method – organic, free range, barn, cage or colony.
- Traceability: each individual farm has its own unique code. Even if farmers own more than one farm, each farm still must have its own unique code.Latest News
- Read the media release
- The terms and conditions that egg producers must adhere to are available to download here (PDF)
Reading an egg stamp – What the numbers meanThis handy graphic explains the letters and numerals you see on stamped eggs:[/caption]
