UK eggs declared safe – Look for the Lion Mark

What a great day. #britisheggweek and it’s just been announced that the Food Standards Agency has changed its advice on eggs, declaring that eggs produced under the British “Lion mark” can be eaten by people of all ages – and that includes vulnerable grouBritish Red Lion Eggps like very young children and pregnant women.

This is fantastic news for our industry. It’s almost 30 years since the salmonella scare which caused a dramatic collapse in sales of eggs and a series of warnings for vulnerable groups to avoid eating them if they were raw or runny.

Today’s announcement means vulnerable groups CAN eat raw, soft boiled or runny eggs – if they are Lion eggs. ALL the eggs produced on our farms and our producer’s farms are BRITISH LION EGGS.

Improvements in animal welfare and the salmonella vaccination program means almost all of UK produced eggs are virtually free of salmonella.

Traceability

Here at The Lakes, we were the first in the country to guarantee farm of origin for all our eggs and still lead the field today. We are proud of our products and all our farmer suppliers, so if your egg comes from us, you can type in the egg code and “Trace your Egg” to the farm of origin.

Lion Mark – knowing what it stands for

The “British Lion Mark”, printed on eggs in red ink, was introduced so that eggs could be traced back to the farm of origin and to show best-before dates.

Almost 30 years on from the initial scare, the Food Standards Agency’s Heather Hancock, says runny eggs can now be eaten by everyone.

“We are now saying if there is a British Lion egg, you’re safe to do that. The risk of salmonella is now so low you needn’t worry. And that’s true whether you’re a fit healthy adult, or whether you’re pregnant or elderly or young. It’s only people on strictly medically supervised diets who need to avoid those eggs.”

Food safety

David Brass, our Chief Executive Officer, appeared on BBC news this morning, reinforcing the benefits of the British Lion code. He said, “We know from back in the ’80s when the scare started, there was an issue with eggs.

“But the Lion standard is a fully independent, audited code of practice to make sure we have standards on the farm that make sure we can’t have any of those issues again.

“And it has shown time after time, in those intervening years, that it is just a brilliant food safety code.”soft-boiled-egg-in-egg-cup