No Class A egg seizures to date

Under new EU laws brought in to protect hens Class A eggs have to be labelled with their method of prodiction.

The Minister stated: “To date, my Department has seized no non-compliant eggs since the Welfare of Laying Hens Directive was introduced in January 2012.

EU Egg Marketing Regulations require all Class A eggs to be labelled with their method of production and this must be in conformity with production criteria specified in the Welfare of Laying Hens Directive.

“Any eggs produced in systems which do not meet these production criteria are prohibited from being placed on the Class A (shell egg) market but may be used for processing or disposed of as an Animal By-product.”

She said a small number of eggs from other countires have been encountered here.

“Origin details of these consignments were checked against Member States’ lists of compliant premises and inspectors examined the eggs under ultra-violet light.

“The eggs were found to be compliant with Egg Marketing regulations, including production method criteria,” she stated.