"During the Easter period, demand for eggs in Austria increases significantly by around 20 per cent. This pushes the industry to its capacity limits every year, especially in the small-scale organic sector. Nevertheless, together with our Ja! Natürlich partners, we still manage to plan the quantities each year so that we can meet the increased demand for organic eggs from Austria in the highest organic quality at Easter," emphasises Ja! Natürlich Managing Director Klaudia Atzmüller emphasises. Every year, Mr and Mrs Austria eat a total of 2.2 billion eggs (source: Statistik Austria), making them one of the top consumers in Europe. 13 per cent of these are organic eggs, followed by conventional free-range eggs (31 per cent). 56 per cent of eggs laid in Austria come from barn eggs - i.e. from a barn without outdoor access (source: AMA). Cage farming has been completely banned in Austria since 2010, with BILLA also playing a pioneering role in this regard, as eggs from this type of farming were banned from the shelves as early as 1994. A lot has happened since then in terms of animal welfare. At Ja! Natürlich chickens have more space in the henhouse, a run of at least 10 square metres per hen, nests and perches as well as material to keep them occupied.
"I wish I was a chicken" - husbandry conditions that correspond to the nature of the hen
Ja! Natürlich agrees with its partners in organic farming on additional animal welfare measures over and above the organic standard, such as sand bathing huts for plumage care or structured green runs with shrubs or fruit trees, which are made available. This is entirely in keeping with the nature of chickens, which like to "bathe" in the sand and hide under shrubs, especially in the hot summer months. You can see for yourself how good this is for the animals on the farm of Renate and Andreas Kaiser, organic farmers in Gramastetten in the Mühlviertel (Upper Austria). "Our 3,000 chickens always have access to our very spacious outdoor enclosure, where they peck, scratch, take sand baths and simply behave as their nature dictates. In addition to the GMO-free organic feed, the chickens eat whatever seeds, grains, herbs, insects or worms they can find in the soil and on the meadow. In addition to the outdoor area and the barn, where they retreat to in the mornings when laying their eggs, our hens have a spacious conservatory as an intermediate area. There they have fresh air and daylight, but are protected from the wind and weather. In the cold season, this is our hens' absolute favourite place," say the dedicated organic farmers, describing the preferences of their charges. Seven years ago, the family switched from an organic dairy farm to an organic laying hen farm. They also cultivate several hectares of fields where the chicken manure is used as a particularly valuable fertiliser. Thus, in keeping with the organic concept, the cycle of nature is constantly closing.
Three decades of commitment and the pioneering work of Ja! Natürlich
Austria's largest organic brand is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and, together with companions and partners, is reflecting on significant pioneering milestones that the company has set since its foundation. "We had developed and tested the initiative against the killing of male chicks, which had been common practice until then, with 'Vier Pfoten' over several years and finally the entire organic sector in Austria was able to agree on it. This is a particularly good example of how a strong brand can boldly lead the way and bring about lasting change," explains Andreas Steidl, Managing Director of Ja! Natürlich and initiator of the pioneering project. The reared roosters are sold at Ja! Natürlich as Gockelwürstel or Moosdorfer Mini-Gockel. Manfred Söllradl, Managing Director of "Die Eiermacher" emphasises: "This project has not only changed the organic sector, but has also shown that economic success and animal welfare can go hand in hand. Austria was an international pioneer - to this day, our animal welfare standards in the poultry sector clearly set us apart from other European countries."
Every year 40 million Ja! Natürlich organic eggs from free-range hens throughout Austria
Eiermacher GmbH in Kremsmünster, Upper Austria, is home to the egg packing centre for Ja! Natürlich. The approximately 40 million organic eggs for Ja! Natürlich currently come from 80 selected organic farms throughout Austria. The fresh organic eggs are collected from the farms at least once a week. At the packing centre, the eggs are sorted by machine and packed in small packages in accordance with the strictest quality and hygiene guidelines. The packaged goods are then immediately distributed to the BILLA/BILLA Plus fresh service warehouses throughout Austria. All Ja! Natürlich organic eggs come 100 per cent from Austrian organic farms.
"Water trick" against food waste with eggs
A particular concern of Ja! Natürlich is the fight against the waste of valuable organic food. In the case of eggs in particular, the common best-before date - which must now be printed on every single egg - is very often not a good indicator, as the egg could still be safely consumed many days later. In this context, the Ja! Natürlich management reminds us of a simple trick that can be used to test the shelf life of eggs beyond the best-before date. "The water trick is a simple method for testing the edibility of an egg. If the egg sinks in the water, it is still OK and safe to eat. If it floats to the surface, gases have already formed in the egg and it is no longer suitable for eating," explains Ja! Natürlich Managing Director Klaudia Atzmüller explains.
