Calls for change to British egg labelling standards

The British Egg Industry Council has called for the mandatory labelling of both the production method and country of origin on any food product containing mostly egg, such as quiche.

An EU Commission report will be submitted to the European Council by 13 December 2014, recommending changes to labelling laws for unprocessed foods, single-ingredient products and where an ingredient represents more than 50% of a product. The BEIC said including eggs’ country of origin and production method on the packaging of such foodstuffs would inform consumers, and could be seen as a first step towards wider labelling of all products containing egg as an ingredient.

“We hope the commission will take the BEIC’s call for mandatory labelling seriously and once it is in place, we would then like to extend this to products containing eggs,” said Ian Jones, chairman of British Lion Egg Processors. “With the anniversary of the horsemeat scandal in January, consumers have never been more interested in the provenance of the food they purchase.

“Many consumers would be surprised and disappointed to find egg products produced to lower standards being trucked into the UK and used instead of British eggs,” he added.

Last year, a survey by animal welfare charity Four Paws found 69% of consumers said the country of origin and production method of egg products should be listed on the packaging.

Source: Poultry World