Only UK eggs are safe after best-before date

British eggs can be eaten up to two days after their best- before date, according to the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

But the watchdog is warning consumers to check for the British Lion mark of quality on eggs to make sure they are produced to the highest standards.

Otherwise, people could end up eating eggs farmed illegally from battery hens in other EU countries.

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The FSA said the British egg industry, led by the Lion scheme, had invested £400 million to ensure that eggs were produced to the highest food safety standards, which has seen levels of salmonella plummet.

But producers in 13 other EU countries, including Spain, Italy and Poland, have ignored the EU ban on battery farming.

From next year, foreign illegal eggs could end up being sold in this country, the FSA warned.

Praising the high standard of British eggs, Mark Williams, chief executive of the British Egg Industry Council, said: “This is great news for the British egg industry.

“The Lion scheme is the gold standard of food safety schemes and we are delighted that the Food Standards Agency has now given the all clear.”