A third of shoppers pledge to buy more British eggs in wake of fipronil scandal

Nearly a third of UK consumers say they plan to buy only British eggs or products made with British eggs as a result of the fipronil contamination scandal, exclusive research for The Grocer reveals.

Overall, 42% of shoppers say they will change their egg consumption in some way because of the scandal, though just 2% claim they will stop eating eggs altogether.

Source: Lightspeed Research 

The exclusive consumer poll, conducted for The Grocer by Lightspeed Research with 1,033 respondents, also reveals that 5% say they will reduce their consumption of eggs, while 3% want to reduce their consumption of products containing eggs, such as salads or sandwiches.

Meanwhile, 32% of respondents say they will buy British eggs or products made with British eggs as a result of the fipronil problem. The scandal involves eggs imported from the continent, particularly the Netherlands, that came from farms where the insecticide fipronil was used as a cleaning agent and treatment for red mite in hen. Fipronil is a popular treatment for lice in cats and dogs but is not allowed to be used on animals involved in food production.

Read more: Fipronil egg contamination scandal – what you need to know now

The Food Standards Agency has stressed there is unlikely to be a risk to human health from products containing eggs from the affected farms, but several retailers – including Sainsbury’s, Morrison, Waitrose and Asda – have withdrawn products as a precaution.

British egg producers have accused retailers of ‘double standards’ in their egg sourcing policies and urged them to commit to UK eggs for all products – not just shell eggs.

Overall, 83% of the British public say they are aware there is a food scandal involving eggs or egg products.

The FSA now estimates about 700,000 eggs from affected farms have come to the UK, after initially suggesting just 21,000 eggs had come into the UK.