British egg farmers’ fury over salmonella advice as they say government is ‘sowing seeds of doubt’

British egg producers have accused the Food Standards Agency (FSA) of "sowing the seeds of doubt" in the public's mind after it issued fresh salmonella advice without clarifying that British Lion-branded eggs remain safe. The FSA warned on Saturday that vulnerable groups, including under-fives, over-65s, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems, should avoid dishes that may contain uncooked or runny eggs when eating out, but it did not exempt eggs bearing the Lion trademark, which producers insist are "100% safe". The row matters because it risks undermining consumer confidence in the domestic egg industry amid an ongoing salmonella outbreak.

Mark Williams, chairman of the British Egg Industry Council, said the organisation had written to the FSA to complain about the "clarity of the message" given by its chief science adviser, Ian Young, and accused the agency of mixed messaging. He also criticised the government for failing to identify the source of the outbreak. Around 40 million eggs are eaten in the UK each day, of which four million are imported.