Latest research by the BLEP, carried out before the horse meat crisis, found that 80% of consumers were concerned over the safety and provenance of egg-based products. 75% would be reassured to see the Lion mark on products, such as quiches, egg sandwiches and mayonnaise.
In this exclusive podcast for FoodManufacture.co.uk in a noisy restaurant, Ian Jones, chairman of the BLEP, recommended that food manufacturers “wake up to the opportunity and show off the Lion mark on egg-based products”.
More reliable
Manufacturers that brand their products with the Lion mark would be viewed by consumers to be more reliable than those that don’t, he added.
Jones said consumers’ appetite for product assurance would have been even greater had the research been carried out after the horse meat scandal.
The British Lion mark on shells means that eggs have been produced to stringent standards of food safety. The standards are set by the British Egg Industry Council under the Lion Code of Practice, which is independently audited.
Meanwhile more than 12.5bn eggs ̶ the equivalent of 625,000t of egg products ̶ have been laid by hens kept in battery cages that were outlawed over a year ago, BLEP announced last week.