WA egg producer Snowdale Holdings fined record $750,000 for claiming eggs were free range

ONE of WA’s biggest egg producers has been fined a record $750,000 for misleading customers with claims that its eggs were free range.

A Federal Court judgment handed down in May last year found Snowdale Holdings breached consumer protection laws by making false or misleading representations about its eggs.

The company implied its eggs were produced by hens that moved around freely on an open range when it was highly unlikely that the animals could do so.

Snowdale sold to retailers Coles and Woolworths and supplied eggs under brands including Eggs by Ellah, Swan Valley Free Range and Wanneroo Free Range.

Justice Antony Siopis fined the company this morning, ordered it to pay $300,000 in costs and ordered it to establish a compliance program.

He made an order preventing Snowdale from using the words free range in connection with its eggs unless they were produced by hens that regularly went outside.

Snowdale must also publish a notice on the Eggs by Ellah website homepage about its false and misleading conduct as well as a half page corrective advertisement.

Source: WA egg producer Snowdale Holdings fined for claiming eggs were free range | Perth Now