A Carton of Eggs: Part 2 – ALDI’s Goldhen Farm Fresh Eggs


Previously in this series:


This is part two in my series of posts where I labor to get to the bottom of all that information that covers those egg cartons that reside in our fridges.  Right now I’m looking at an egg carton that was purchased from ALDI a while ago.


ALDI is a grocery store chain that started in Germany and lately has been expanding its presence in the United States.  The company website shows that the majority of its supermarkets are located on the East Coast but that they're also moving into the Midwest and California. 


 The brand logo proclaims these eggs to be “Goldhen Farm Fresh Eggs” and the picture shows a white chicken on a background of radiating yellow stripes at the top and green on the bottom.  It is stylized but it the chicken is obviously standing on a grassy hill in the sunshine.  Apparently egg companies like to present a bucolic image.  Check out the names on the egg cartons next time you’re at the grocery store and notice how words like “country”, “sunny”, “brook”, and “meadow” keep popping up.  Following that trend, Goldhen tells us that these eggs are “farm fresh”.  What does that mean, exactly?  In this day of backyard chickens, the freshest eggs may actually come from the coop in your urban backyard – far, far away from the nearest farm.  Of course raising hens on a commercial scale in the city is not practical, so these eggs no doubt came from a farm somewhere out in the country.  So how fresh are they?  Well, there are “sell by” standards that must be maintained.  Were these eggs laid yesterday?  Probably not.