Egg farmers challenge government over imported battery cage products

The egg industry in the UK is launching judicial review proceedings against the government over its controversial refusal to ban imports of illegally produced battery cage eggs and egg products.

British farms have invested £400m in phasing out barren battery cages to meet the tough new requirements of EU legislation that came into force on 1 January and all British Lion-marked cage eggs now come from new colony cages. Producers in 13 other EU countries, including Spain, Italy and Poland, have not fully complied with the ban, the British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) claim. The BEIC estimates that about a quarter of EU cage egg production will be illegal, with more than 50m hens still being kept in barren battery cages, producing more than 40m eggs a day.

In December, farming minister Jim Paice announced that the UK would not impose a unilateral ban on eggs produced in battery cages. The UK is relying on ultra-violet testing of imported shell eggs and a voluntary food industry ban, backed by a number of retailers, food service companies, manufacturers and processors, to ensure compliance.

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