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A major food safety concern with eggs has been contamination involving salmonella bacteria.
Although the risk of becoming ill from salmonella is relatively small, the infection can be dangerous, especially for the very young, the elderly and those weakened by illness.
During the late 1980’s the bacterium Salmonella enteritidis (S e) was found inside a small number of eggs.
In 1998, the Lion Quality Code of Practice was introduced to incorporate latest research findings and technical developments. These food safety measures include:
- Vaccination against salmonella of all pullets destined for Lion Quality egg producing flocks.
- Best-before date on the shell as well as the egg box of all Lion Quality eggs.
- Complete traceability of Lion Quality eggs through a ‘passport’ system.
- Independent monitoring of the Lion Code.
Since its introduction in 1998, the Lion Mark has been extremely successful so much so that, in 2001 a Government committee (the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food) produced a report highlighting the effectiveness of poultry vaccination in reducing human salmonella cases by half.
This has since been reinforced by the Food Standards Agency which has confirmed the success of the UK egg industry in overcoming salmonella in eggs. In its survey, published in 2004, it tested more than 28,000 UK-produced eggs and no salmonella was found inside any of them.
For more on the Lion mark and the Lion Code of Practice visit our Britegg site.
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