British Lion eggs to be stamped on farm

The Code of Practice for Lion Quality Eggs, already the world’s leading food safety scheme, has been further strengthened with on-farm marking of eggs to be introduced across all systems of production.

From the end of 2009, Lion caged eggs will be marked with the producer code, which shows the system of production, country of origin and the farm where the eggs were laid.  From 31 December 2010, Lion free range, barn and organic eggs will also be marked with the unique code on farm.

The British Lion mark itself, synonymous with top quality British eggs, will continue to be added at the packing station, signifying that the eggs fully comply with all aspects of the Code of Practice.

Since its launch in 1998, the Lion Code has been regularly enhanced with improvements including:

  • Improved salmonella testing, including additional and more sensitive environmental tests.
  • Improved traceability, including an expanded ‘live’ database of all BEIC scheme members; a register of wholesale traded eggs; and an updated passport scheme for Lion flocks. 
  • A website for consumers to trace eggs back to the farm from the code on their eggs.
  • More stringent auditing, including unannounced audits of all Lion packing centres and new penalties including financial penalties for critical non-conformances.

Mark Williams, Chief Executive of the British Egg Industry Council, said: “We are continually looking at ways in which we can improve the Code.  Ensuring that Lion eggs are marked on farm will improve traceability still further.”