Call to buy British to avoid illegal eggs

CONSUMERS are being urged to buy British to avoid illegal eggs.

As of yesterday, all eggs produced in Europe should be produced from hens kept in high-welfare systems or free-range barns, but it is estimated that up to 51 million eggs, or a nearly a quarter of all EU production, will still not meet those high-welfare standards because 13 countries have failed to comply with the ban on cages.

Liberal Democrat MEP George Lyon said: “This ban on eggs from hens kept in cramped, cruel conditions is well overdue. UK farmers have respected the ban and spent millions of pounds upgrading their farms to meet the higher welfare standards.

“But that investment is under threat from the 13 EU countries that have failed to implement the ban. Consumers can only be sure they are not eating illegally produced eggs if they buy British.”