Households are being urged to check their eggs for the presence of the Red Lion symbol and an eight-digit code to avoid salmonella after a death believed to be linked to imported eggs. A person has died and hundreds of people have been affected by a food poisoning outbreak, health officials have said.
Outbreak linked to imported eggs
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said the salmonella outbreak “may be linked to eggs imported from outside of the UK”. Between August 11 last year and August 1 this year, 207 cases have been confirmed – 199 in England, six in Scotland, one in Wales and one in Northern Ireland.
More than a third of people affected (38%) in the outbreak were admitted to hospital, with two people developing potentially life-threatening blood stream infections. Salmonella generally causes a self-limiting gastroenteritis, with symptoms including stomach cramps, diarrhoea, vomiting or fever.
How to check your eggs
To check if an egg is safe to eat, look for the Red Lion symbol, along with the eight-digit code. The code indicates: the first digit (0-3) shows the farming method – 0 for organic, 1 for free range, 2 for barn, 3 for cage; the next letters show the country of origin, such as UK; the following five digits are the farm code, identifying which farm the eggs came from. Below that is the standard best-before date, such as BB 15APR.
Egg Info explains: “The British Lion is the UK’s most successful food safety scheme. Over 90% of UK eggs are now produced under the British Lion scheme and more than 200 billion British Lion eggs have been sold since its launch in 1998.”
Safety scheme and advice
“The British Lion scheme has been responsible for a drastic reduction to the presence of salmonella in UK eggs and the Food Standards Agency has recently confirmed that they are approved to be consumed runny, or even raw, by vulnerable groups,” Egg Info added. “All eggs that carry the British Lion mark have been produced under the stringent requirements of the British Lion Code of Practice which ensures the highest standards of food safety.”
Hannah Charles, lead epidemiologist for gastrointestinal infections at UKHSA, said: “We’re working with Food Standards Agency and other public health agencies to investigate a salmonella outbreak that may be linked to eggs imported from outside of the UK.” She added that salmonellosis is often caused by eating or handling contaminated food and can spread rarely from person-to-person, and advised washing hands thoroughly, cooking food thoroughly, and avoiding handling food for others if symptomatic.
