Egg Ratings

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Manning Valley hard to beat in egg ratings

Whether poached, fried or scrambled, Aussies get egg-cited about eggs. It’s a food best served with a side of bacon in a classic big brekky combo (drool), but that can also be enjoyed at any time of the day by the whole family. Just like there are multiple ways to cook it, eggs are not created equal. Between the different sizes, colours, labels and the ‘free-range’ or ‘caged’ consideration, Aussie consumers are left to decide for themselves. And like with many supermarket foods, taking the cheap option could mean sacrificing quality. On top of that, some shoppers believe that buying eggs also comes with a moral and ethical judgment call.

Let’s take a look at the main types of eggs commercially available in Australia:

• Caged eggs: these come from hens housed in cages, usually within a shed.
• Free-range eggs: collected from hens raised in a free-run (barn or aviary) housing system with access to an outdoor range.
• Barn eggs: come from hens housed in an open barn (not caged) with perches and nest boxes to lay their eggs.
• Organic eggs: sourced from hens in free-range systems that are fed organically grown grain and where no pesticides are used in their outdoor housing system.

Now that you know the basics, let’s get cracking on consumer feedback. Canstar Blue asked more than 2,180 Australian consumers to rate the eggs they purchased and ate from a supermarket or grocer within the last three months. Survey respondents scored brands on freshness, taste, packaging design, value for money and overall satisfaction. Those that received at least 30 responses are featured in our ratings. Keep in mind that our customer ratings include brands that sell both free-range and caged eggs. If you’re concerned about this issue, it’s important to do your research before making a purchase.

Our latest review saw Manning Valley perched at the top of this year’s ratings, with five-star reviews for freshness, taste, packaging design and overall satisfaction

Best Eggs

Here are the best brands for eggs in Australia, as rated by consumers in Canstar Blue’s 2021 review:

1. Manning Valley
2. ALDI Lodge Farms
3. Pace Farm
4. Sunny Queen Farms
5. Macro Organic
6. Coles
7. Farm Pride
8. Costco
9. Woolworths Select

Manning Valley is an ‘egg-cellent’ choice for eggs, according to our survey, with the brand achieving five-star reviews in most research categories ─ including overall satisfaction. Last year’s winner ALDI Lodge Farms followed behind on four stars, alongside all other brands featured in this year’s report.

Although when it comes to freshness, it seems Aussies have a reason to look on the bright side. Several brands collected full marks, including Manning Valley, ALDI Lodge Farms, Pace Farm, Sunny Queen Farms and Macro Organic.

Sunny Queen Farms also scored five stars for packaging design, while ALDI Lodge Farms rated best for value for money, poaching the only five-star rating for that category.

About the winner ─ Manning Valley

Manning Valley has been producing free-range eggs from Australian farms since 1989. According to the brand, pasture-based farming is the secret behind their tasty eggs. This eco-farming system is claimed to give chickens the freedom to move around ‘just as nature intended’, and live on pollutant-free farms.

Manning Valley’s eggs are available from Coles and Woolworths, as well as from certain specialty stores, in NSW, QLD, VIC and the ACT. Prices usually start from $3.60 for a six-pack carton, reaching up to $8.50 for an 18-pack.

• Manning Valley fried up five stars for freshness, taste, packaging design and overall satisfaction. It got four stars for value for money.

Which eggs should I buy?

Ultimately, you’ll want to buy fresh, high-quality eggs that were produced in alignment with your expectations as a consumer and at an affordable price. Look at product labels for classifications (i.e. free-range, organic, etc) and for any approval stamps that indicate the eggs come from a sustainable farming business.

When asked about what they considered when buying eggs, our survey respondents answered as below:

• Nearly half (47%) of consumers who buy free-range eggs do so because they think they taste better and are generally better quality, while 55% buy free-range eggs because they don’t want to support the caged egg industry.
• More than half of survey respondents (53%) who buy free-range eggs said they are happy paying more.
• One in four (26%) consumers who buy free-range eggs admitted to not being convinced that the eggs they buy are as ‘free-range’ as they claim to be.
• Half (51%) of survey respondents who buy caged eggs said they would buy free-range eggs if they were cheaper.
• One out of 10 caged-egg buyers (15%) said they feel guilty about buying caged eggs.

Whatever your preference, take your time to shop around and research your options.

About the author of this page

This report was written by Canstar Blue’s home & lifestyle journalist, Tahnee-Jae Lopez-Vito. She’s an expert on household appliances, grooming products and all things grocery and shopping. In addition to translating our expert research into consumer-friendly ratings reports, Tahnee spends her time helping consumers make better-informed purchase decisions on all manner of consumer goods and services, while highlighting the best deals and anything you need to be aware of.

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Picture credits: Maxim Khytra / Shutterstock.com, LightFieldStudios / Shutterstock.com.