United Egg Producers (UEP), a trade association for U.S. egg family farmers, is leading an animal welfare initiative to educate executives in the food industry sector about proper farm animal care with its second national Animal Welfare Conference for Grocery and Foodservice Executives that took place in Denver on November 7 – 8, 2007. “We are proud of our industry and these conferences are an opportunity to actually show our customers both modern cage production systems and cage-free production under the UEP Certified program and hear the science-based facts from animal welfare and behavior experts” said Gene Gregory, president of UEP. More than 40 retail and foodservice executives attended the two-day event receiving information on the history and science behind UEP Certified, one of the most comprehensive and progressive animal welfare programs in the U.S. Other conference topics included producing eggs to meet consumers’ varied demands; legal, legislative, regulatory and marketing challenges in the egg industry and communicating animal welfare issues to customers. Attendees toured a farm with both modern cage production and cage-free egg production facilities. Approximately 85 percent of U.S. family egg farmers comply with the UEP Certified scientific guidelines which ensure hens receive adequate space, continuous access to nutritious food and clean water, proper lighting and fresh air daily in both modern cage and cage free facilities. UEP Certified farmers must implement these guidelines on 100% of their production farms and are audited for compliance by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the independent firm Validus. UEP developed the UEP Certified program for modern egg production out of scientific guidelines established by an independent advisory committee of the top animal welfare scientific experts in the U.S. The USDA, the Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission have approved the UEP Certified logo. The International Egg Commission has recognized the program as a model from which to create animal welfare programs in other member countries throughout the world. In addition, the Food Marketing Institute and the National Council of Chain Restaurants also endorse these guidelines. To view a complete copy of the UEP Certified Guidelines and to learn more about the program visit www.uepcertified.com. United Egg Producers (UEP) is the nation’s leading trade association for U.S. egg family farmers whose members produce approximately 95% of the eggs consumed in the U.S. Its members produce a wide variety of eggs to meet consumer demands including modern cage production, cage free, free range, organic and other specialty eggs. UEP is based in Alpharetta GA.