Egg Industry Cries Fowl Over Government Betrayal

British egg industry representatives have accused the UK Government of duplicity, as it continues to undermine British egg producers and mislead consumers with its ongoing support for imported battery eggs.

The accusation comes as the Government agrees a tariff-free extension of the trade deal with Ukraine, which will see millions more eggs from battery systems, banned in the UK for more than a decade, flood into the UK.

Another nail in the coffin of British producers came last week with the announcement that the UK Government wants to ban the use of more welfare friendly enriched cages in the UK, while still allowing eggs from these systems to be freely imported.

Nick Allen, Chief Executive of the British Egg Industry Council, said: “The actions of this Government show that it simply doesn’t care about British consumers or British farmers. This policy is deeply flawed and lacks proper consideration of its consequences. It raises serious questions about what outcomes the Government expects to achieve. Across Europe, food safety concerns have already emerged in relation to Ukrainian eggs, with millions exported into the UK and EU.

“While the EU has at least recognised the risks by introducing tariffs, the UK Government has effectively created an open door for the dumping of battery eggs produced to standards far below those required of British eggs and illegal to be produced in the UK. This exposes unsuspecting consumers to unnecessary risk and unfairly undermines domestic producers who meet significantly higher welfare and safety standards.

“The British Government should be ashamed of its betrayal of both British egg producers and consumers. The UK produces eggs to world-leading welfare and food safety standards, yet the Government appears willing to operate double standards, exposing consumers to lower quality imports, eroding trust in the standards the British public rightly expect.”

Following the latest announcement from the Government, the egg industry is urgently seeking a meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss its concerns.