As of January 1st 2012, it became illegal to keep hens in barren battery cages, but the RSPCA has found that 88 per cent of people in England and Wales had not heard of the law.
Of those that had, seven out of ten did not fully understand its implications.
Meanwhile, the British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) has written to the government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs complaining about its refusal to ban the import of battery cage products from other countries.
It points out that British firms have had to spend £400 million complying with the EU rules, but claims producers in locations such as Spain and Poland are not fully complying.
"UK consumers could be eating eggs from illegal battery hens and British egg producers will be seriously undermined," said BEIC chairman Andrew Parker.
Booklet labels could encourage shoppers to buy British eggs and detail how they were produced.
Denny Bros Ltd, 05 January 2012
