Two extensive reports from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the Health Protection Agency (HPA) have praised the British egg industry for the huge decline in salmonella in UK eggs.

Of the 28,000 UK-produced eggs tested by the FSA, no salmonella was found inside any of them and only nine showed traces of salmonella on the shell. The HPA survey of more than 34,000 eggs in catering premises, conducted in conjunction with the Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS), found salmonella in just 0.3% of samples.

The results contrast with the most recent HPA tests on imported Spanish eggs, of which nearly 7% tested positive for salmonella. In the same HPA public health investigation, salmonella was not recovered from any UK eggs produced under the Lion Code of Practice.

UK egg producers are now calling on the Government to ensure that all eggs sold in the UK are produced to the same high safety standards as those stamped with the British Lion mark.

More than 80% of UK eggs are currently produced under the industry’s voluntary Lion Code of Practice, a comprehensive programme incorporating the highest standards of food safety. British Lion egg producers now believe that two of the Lion Code’s key elements — salmonella vaccination and a ‘best before’ date stamped on every egg — should be imposed on all eggs sold in the UK.

"We are delighted that these important reports have acknowledged the huge success of the UK egg industry’s salmonella eradication programme," says Andrew Parker, Chairman of the British Egg Industry Council.

"The investment made by BEIC producers has been entirely voluntary, and salmonella vaccination alone has cost our industry £20 million over the past five years. It is now time for the Government to insist that all eggs sold in the UK are produced to these very high safety standards.

"The British Lion is the one good news story for UK agriculture. Not only have we effectively eradicated salmonella, but we have also increased consumer confidence which means that egg sales are now rising," says Andrew Parker.