fresh shell eggs
All our SPAR brand fresh shell eggs sold in Great Britain are Lion Quality Standard and in Northern Ireland they are Bord Bia Irish Food Board Standard
We currently provide customers with a range of shell eggs under the SPAR brand, all of which are Lion Quality Standard in Great Britain or Bord Bia Irish Food Board standard in Northern Ireland.
All shell eggs that carry the British Lion mark have been produced under the stringent requirements of the British Lion Code of Practice which ensures the highest standards of food safety. The code covers the entire production chain and ensures strict food safety controls including the guarantee that all hens are vaccinated against salmonella and a ‘passport’ system ensuring that all hens, shell eggs and feed are fully traceable.
Animal welfare is important to us and to our customers. We are committed to working responsibly in this area and to continue to progress and influence best practice in our supply chain. Working closely with our supplier partners, we will stop selling shell eggs from caged hens by 2025, moving to alternative sourcing methods, such as barns, free range and organic.
Temporary housing order: eggs and poultry
You may be aware of the current temporary requirement from the Government for all UK farmers to keep birds being bred for meat and eggs, indoors as a precaution against Avian flu.
Although Avian flu poses a very low food safety risk for consumers, the government is trying to limit the spread to protect both wild and farmed birds.
This includes a housing order across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales which requires keepers of birds to keep them inside, away from wild birds. This extends to all free range poultry reared for meat or egg production and affects all UK retailers and producers.
Animal welfare is our priority, and we will ensure these high standards of welfare are maintained whilst this temporary housing order is in place. All poultry have freedom to express natural behaviour, including perching and roosting whilst they are temporarily indoors.
You will see notices placed in our stores in support of this messaging. You will see that all free range hens eggs and poultry labelled as such, will be derived from barn eggs and poultry, until the housing order is lifted.
