benefits of lion egg products
Lion mark and food safety
The British Lion mark is licensed to processors of British Lion eggs who abide by the British Egg Products Association's Lion Code of Practice.
Producers undergo independent auditing, and strict controls are imposed on processing, pasteurisation and packing.
Egg products produced under the British Lion egg products Code of Practice must be sourced from eggs produced under the Lion Quality Code of Practice for shell eggs.
One of the most trusted food safety schemes in Britain, the Lion Code of Practice guarantees:
- Compulsory vaccination of the laying flock against Salmonella Enteritidis
- Independent auditing
- On-farm and packing station hygiene controls.
- Production to significantly higher standards than required by UK or EU law
- Complete traceability of hens, eggs and feed
- Best-before date on the shell
Find out more about the Lion Code of Practice.
Since its launch in the late 1990s, the Lion mark on shell eggs has played a fundamental role in reassuring consumers that British eggs are the safest in the world.
- In 2001 a Government committee produced a report highlighting the effectiveness of poultry vaccination in reducing human salmonella cases by more than half.
- The Food Standards Agency has confirmed the success of the UK egg industry in overcoming salmonella in eggs. In its survey of eggs on retail sale, it found no salmonella in 28,000 UK-produced eggs.
- In a 2007 European Food Safety Authority report, several EU countries reported levels of salmonella of public health significance on their flock holdings of more than 50%. The UK figure was only 8%, confirming its status as among the safest in the world.