What is on the egg?

In 2000, the Association for Controlled Alternative Animal Husbandry created the first traceability system in the food industry, with the stamp on the egg. In 2004, the so-called egg code became the statutory labelling specification within the European Union.
The first number in the stamp provides information on the rearing method of the hen, then comes the country of origin, and finally the number of the laying farm. Our database covers all eggs monitored through KAT from barn, free-range and organic production all over Europe. Alongside the name of the farmer, you can find up-to-date pictures of the laying farm. Further information on the KAT labelling system, KAT-controlled forms of husbandry and marketing at the weekly markets can be found on the following pages.

Enter the stamp on your egg and find out its origin:

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  Learn more about the print code

  The marking consists of three components:

  • Housing system

  • Country of origin

  • Producer code

  Example: 1-DE-1234501

  1. Housing system

  The first digit indicates the housing system of the laying hens:

  • 0 – Organic production
  • 1 – Free-range production
  • 2 – Barn production

  2. Country of origin

  The letter combination indicates the country of origin:

  • AT – Austria
  • BE – Belgium
  • BG – Bulgaria
  • DE – Germany
  • DK – Denmark
  • ES – Spain
  • FR – France
  • HR – Croatia
  • IT – Italy
  • NL – Netherlands
  • PL – Poland
  • RO – Romania
  • SE – Sweden
  • SI – Slovenia

  3. Producer code

  The producer code follows the country code. The last digit identifies the barn.

  For eggs produced in Germany, the first two digits of the producer code also indicate the federal state:

  • 01 – Schleswig-Holstein
  • 02 – Hamburg
  • 03 – Lower Saxony
  • 04 – Bremen
  • 05 – North Rhine-Westphalia
  • 06 – Hesse
  • 07 – Rhineland-Palatinate
  • 08 – Baden-Württemberg
  • 09 – Bavaria
  • 10 – Saarland
  • 11 – Berlin
  • 12 – Brandenburg
  • 13 – Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania