One of Western Australia's biggest egg producers is likely to be penalised after the Federal Court found it deceived shoppers by falsely labelling some of its products free range.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission brought the action against Snowdale Holdings over its farms in Carabooda and the Swan Valley in Perth's north. The company produces brands including Eggs by Ellah.
The court heard last year that half of the hens probably never got outside because the sheds were overstocked and had only one exit, which was too small.
In his May 2016 judgment, Justice Antony Siopis said Snowdale's carton labels gave no indication the birds had to compete with up to 17,000 others before they could even leave the steel sheds.
Justice Siopis is expected hand down his penalties and orders later on Tuesday.
Humane Society International, which alerted the ACCC to a neighbour's claims about the company, says it hopes for a record fine "due to the scale of consumer deception".
The animal welfare group said egg producers such as Snowdale - which fetched up to twice the price for the so-called free range eggs than for barn-laid eggs - had made consumers lose confidence in the free range industry.
The federal government established a new information standard for free range eggs in April, saying the label could only be used for hens that had meaningful and regular access to outdoors, and were stocked at a maximum density of 10,000 hens per hectare.
After last year's verdict, Snowdale manager Barry Cocking said the company was considering an appeal and had stopped using the Swan Valley and Carabooda properties for free-range egg farming in 2013 and 2014.
Its Gingin operations stocked hens at no more than 1500 per hectare, he added.
