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Most French Supermarkets Miss 2026 Pledge to Drop Caged-Hen Eggs, Audit Finds

An NGO audit cites a 2025 supply shortfall, with unlabeled cartons now flagged to France’s consumer watchdog.

Overview

  • Anima and Data for Good inspected 386 supermarkets in January 2026 and found cage-egg sales in 73% of stores.
  • Performance varied sharply by chain, with cage eggs found in 1 of 28 Monoprix stores and about a quarter of ALDI locations, versus more than 80% at Carrefour and Leclerc and over 95% at Super U, Auchan, and Lidl.
  • Investigators documented widespread use of anonymous “no name” cartons that often lacked the mandated farming method or production code, prompting an alert to the DGCCRF over potential EU rule breaches.
  • Retailers told Anima that a 2025 production–consumption gap led to temporary reliance on cage eggs; most cage eggs found were French, though Lidl frequently sold foreign cage eggs.
  • The NGO credits corporate pledges with cutting the share of caged hens in France from 67% in 2016 to 25% in 2024, noting progress has stalled since 2022 even as cage-egg sales in supermarkets hit a low.