Manufacturers and retailers are being urged to source more British egg products after new figures revealed a 57% rise in imports.
More than 100,000 tonnes of egg products were imported last year for use in goods ranging from ready meals to egg sandwiches, according to new figures from the British Egg Products Association. Imports now make up 30% of total egg product usage in the UK.
The number of egg products imported into the UK rose 6.6% in 2007, but shot up a further 57% in the first five months of 2008 [Defra]. Volumes have since remained steady, but hit a high of 300,000 cases in April this year.
Many consumers wanted to buy British but were not being given clear information about the provenance of eggs in products, said BEPA.
Manufacturers and retailers should reassess their sourcing policies to ensure they used locally supplied eggs produced to the Lion code, said BEPA chaiman Clive Frampton, while packaging should clearly indicate where eggs had been sourced.
"It is surprising that eggs can be responsible for so many food miles, especially when the UK has some of the highest standards of egg production in the world through the British Lion scheme."
The NFU also backed calls for clearer labelling.
"We'd always support that the more labelling of origin of food, the better," said chief poultry adviser Robert Newberry.
"People choose UK eggs when they can. It's difficult with processed products but if there's a way [to better label them] we'd support that."
Shell egg imports were low at the moment, but it was harder to monitor the use of eggs as ingredients in other products, he claimed. The union is calling for manufacturers not to import eggs from outside the EU once new regulations banning battery farms come into force in 2012.
BEPA produced a new Lion logo in July 2008 to differentiate from the standard Lion logo for shell eggs.
More than 100,000 tonnes of egg products were imported last year for use in goods ranging from ready meals to egg sandwiches, according to new figures from the British Egg Products Association. Imports now make up 30% of total egg product usage in the UK.
The number of egg products imported into the UK rose 6.6% in 2007, but shot up a further 57% in the first five months of 2008 [Defra]. Volumes have since remained steady, but hit a high of 300,000 cases in April this year.
Many consumers wanted to buy British but were not being given clear information about the provenance of eggs in products, said BEPA.
Manufacturers and retailers should reassess their sourcing policies to ensure they used locally supplied eggs produced to the Lion code, said BEPA chaiman Clive Frampton, while packaging should clearly indicate where eggs had been sourced.
"It is surprising that eggs can be responsible for so many food miles, especially when the UK has some of the highest standards of egg production in the world through the British Lion scheme."
The NFU also backed calls for clearer labelling.
"We'd always support that the more labelling of origin of food, the better," said chief poultry adviser Robert Newberry.
"People choose UK eggs when they can. It's difficult with processed products but if there's a way [to better label them] we'd support that."
Shell egg imports were low at the moment, but it was harder to monitor the use of eggs as ingredients in other products, he claimed. The union is calling for manufacturers not to import eggs from outside the EU once new regulations banning battery farms come into force in 2012.
BEPA produced a new Lion logo in July 2008 to differentiate from the standard Lion logo for shell eggs.
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