The British Free Range Egg Producers Association is calling on retailers to change their egg sourcing policies after 700,000 contaminated Dutch eggs made it into the UK food chain.

The imported eggs were incorporated in to products such as sandwiches and salads and are being withdrawn by the retailers stocking them.

British Lion Code eggs have been tested by the Food Standards Agency and have proven to be perfectly safe.

The Dutch eggs were found to contain traces of Fipronil – an insecticide which shouldn’t be used around food-producing animals.

BFREPA chief executive Robert Gooch said: “British egg producers follow stringent production standards to ensure that what they produce is perfectly safe and nutritious for consumers to eat.

“Retailers have shown good commitment to British shell eggs but processed egg is often sourced from other countries.

“This incident should be a wake-up call for retailers. Consumers want safe, traceable food and we have a ready-made scheme which delivers that in the form of the British Lion Code.”

Approximately 180 Dutch farms, including egg farms, have been implicated so far.

“Consumers should be reminded that eggs stamped with the British Lion mark are perfectly safe to eat,” Gooch added.

BFREPA is the voice of British free range eggs and represents businesses with a combined flock exceeding 13million hens.