Pregnant women can now eat eggs
British eggs with the Red Lion mark carry very ‘low risk’ of salmonella
Eggs safe in pregnancy
- Pregnant women can eat eggs
There’s always news surrounding what pregnant woman can eat and what should be avoided and this changes all the time, but eating runny eggs or raw eggs in mayonnaise for example, have been an absolute no-no for years, until recently.
Look for the Red Lion stamp
Since the salmonella crisis 30 years ago, pregnant women have been consistently told to avoid runny eggs or products containing raw eggs throughout their pregnancy, but latest advice says pregnant women, babies and elderly people can now enjoy dippy eggs again for the first time since the 1980s – as long as they have the British Lion mark on.
The Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food’s report has revealed that British eggs with the red lion mark actually carry a very low risk to vulnerable groups such as pregnant women.
They put these findings down to improved hygiene and storage over the past 15 years that means the risk of salmonella in British hens is now very low.
In October 2017 the Food Standards Agency confirmed that British Lion eggs are safe to be eaten runny, and even raw, by vulnerable groups such as infants, children, pregnant women and elderly people. These groups can now enjoy the nutritional benefits of eggs, without having to fully cook them.
Andrew Joret, chairman of the British Egg Industry Council, which runs the British Lion scheme, welcomed the advice: “This is a real success story for the UK egg industry. Our producers have maintained the highest standards for two decades to ensure the superior safety of British Lion eggs and we are delighted that FSA has now confirmed that these eggs are safe enough for even vulnerable groups to eat runny or even raw."