The Brand That Could Be Behind Aldi's Cheap Goldhen Eggs

The best thing about being an Aldi shopper is that you get great deals on generic products that are almost as good — or sometimes even better — than their branded counterparts. This happens because a lot of generic food brands are made by name brands, which explains why Aldi shoppers think that so many of the store's copycat products taste like the real thing.

In fact, many Aldi staple products like milk, bread, and flour are also produced by some of the same companies that make food for other large grocers. This is the case for Aldi's Goldhen eggs, which are most likely produced by Rose Acre Farms. This company is the second-largest egg farm in the United States.

The theory of Aldi egg's real origin comes from Aldi Reviewer, which noted that cartons of Goldhen eggs list their packaging location in Indiana, at the same address as Rose Acre Farms' headquarters. The theory seems to hold water, as Rose Acre Farms is a major producer, and it provides eggs for other popular egg brands, including Country Daybreak, Glenview, and Walmart's Great Value line.

Rose Acre Farms sells a large variety of eggs for all kinds of shoppers. Ruth Ann Hendrix, a corporate secretary and director at the company, told Food Chain Magazine that the farm produces all kinds of eggs, depending on what the stores it supplies require, from cage-safe to organic cage-free eggs.

But despite being such a large and trusted egg producer, Rose Acre Farms has encountered some safety problems in the past. Most famously, the company voluntarily recalled over 206 million eggs in 2018 due to a salmonella outbreak that made 45 people sick and put 11 in the hospital, according to the United States Food and Drug Administration. 

All of the eggs recalled came from one single Rose Acre farm in North Carolina. The cleanliness of this particular farm was already in question. An FDA investigation conducted only a week before the outbreak found that the farm had a serious rodent problem that wasn't being properly handled.

However, the good news for Aldi shoppers is that, while Goldhen eggs may be made by Rose Acre Farms, they seem to be produced on a separate farm in Indiana, which hasn't had the same safety issues as the North Carolina farm. This would explain why Aldi brand eggs were never recalled during the salmonella outbreak in 2018.

While a past recall does sound frightening, it is important to note that eggs in general (not just Rose Acre Farm eggs) are one of the foods most likely to have salmonella. The best way to prevent catching the disease is to cook your eggs all the way through, no matter where you buy them. 

Despite salmonella risks, eggs are still an important part of a healthy diet. In fact, according to a study published by Oxford Academic, eggs are one of the best and most affordable sources of nutrients for food-insecure children. The American Heart Association also lists eggs as an important part of a healthy diet for most people, as long as you stick to the recommended one a day.

Looking towards the future, Aldi also seems to have big plans for their Goldhen eggs. The company announced in a press release its plan to sell only cage-free eggs by 2025 while maintaining the brand's low prices. While cage-free eggs and free-range eggs are quite different, the change still marks a step up from the "cage-safe" eggs of the past.