To wonder about these eggs?

[LisaSimps0n]

We get our eggs from a farm in our village - they're a little pricey, but we see the hens pecking around happily, and like the fact that the kids at the farm deliver them to us each week. Have just noticed that they are stamped - not sure what the law is here, but have never noticed this before, and had always thought that eggs that are only supplied locally like this wouldn't be stamped. Suspicions further aroused by the fact that most of the stamps are indecipherable, and it seems as though someone has tried to rub them off. Anyway, I managed to read the code on a few of the eggs, and typed them into an egg finder site I found, and it came back that they were free range eggs originating about 65 miles away. Obviously, I feel differently about buying eggs from the local farm if they're not from the local farm at all, but don't want to raise it with the farmer if I've got the wrong end of the stick. I am hoping that the combined knowledge of mumsnet might be able to cast some light on this - would it be usual for eggs sourced from a local farm (very much a small scale sideline for them) to be stamped at all? and is there any way the eggs might come from the farm up the road despite the ref on them suggesting they orginate 65 miles away?

Could that be the central packing plant for the farm?

I think the rule is that the egg producer can sell unstamped eggs direct to the end user so they can do doorstep sales, deliver locally or sell at a local market but always to the end user. This specifically rules out selling unstamped eggs to a restaurant or the village shop for example.
If a producer wants to expand this and be able to sell to anyone or any business they have to jump through all sorts of different hoops and be inspected etc and these eggs are then stamped.
The farm 65 miles away is not doing anything wrong as far as I can see and the eggs are most likely going to be fine but your local farm is on dodgy ground if they are passing those eggs off as their own and not declaring they were bought in which could explain why the stamps are hard to read and smudged.

Why wouldn't you just ask the farmer what the stamp means and who put it on? See what he/she says and go from there. My guess is that they say they are selling their own eggs but have done so well in sales they have to buy them in to make up their deficit.

OP is it a problem for you just to ask nicely?

It may be they have such local demand their hens can't produce enough so they're buying in. A hen at top lay manages 5 a week, I believe. So you could sort of work it out from what they sell. You'd need 6 hens to provide 5 half dozen boxes a week, 60 to provide 50 etc. Ask them how many hens they have!

We've had several scams on "local" and "free range" round here, including a gentleman done for buying in non-free range, unstamped eggs and just reboxing to sell at markets as his own free range. To say nothing of a chap who bought in pork from Belgium and sold it as from premium free range foraging pigs.

Good luck - hope the farm and its eggs are above board ....

God - the depths to which people will sink to make money never ceases to depress me.

Just ask nicely, OP - hopefully they can explain it to you satisfactorily.

(I meant the people passing off goods as their own organic free range stuff, in case that wasn't clear!)

Thanks all. I will ask them nicely, but just wanted a clearer idea of possible explanations before doing so. It probably is a case of demand outstripping supply, but do feel a bit miffed that they are clearly passing them off as their own (very clear rub marks around many of the stamps, and I'm sure that the eggs they sold us never used to be stamped, hence wondering and looking it up).