30/08/2026
One of my earliest memories on the news was Edwina Currie as Junior Health minister at the time announcing that most British eggs were carrying salmonella. A major controversy at the time and she resigned 2 weeks later.
Subsequently, massive reform resulted and the egg industry pulled up its socks to regain consumer confidence. This was a long time before I got involved with egg production but I am proud of the world leading standards the egg industry in Britain now achieves.
One thing which frustrates farmers however, is not the trade competition with other countries, but the fact that imported food is well below our welfare and food standards.
This should be a real wake-up call to our politicians as imported eggs contaminated with salmonella enteritidis have now been linked to 500 cases including 2 deaths in humans.
Our eggs are produced here at Lower Mill of Tynet, to British Lion standards and as such we get regular on farm audits and have to follow a strict salmonella testing programme. Hens can't be placed in a house before it is swabbed and tested negative for salmonella, even the rodent boxes are swabbed. The first laid eggs have to be tested and the environment and eggs are all regularly tested throughout the laying period. This is all backed up by an official test every year.
In 2015 I visited The States where I believe the largest cause of death by food poisoning annually was linked to salmonella in eggs. Their industry did almost the exact opposite of everything we do in the UK. Eggs were washed, chlorinated and refrigerated as a result and best before dates varied from state to state.
Farmer G
