Anyone cooking soft, runny eggs is urged to check one important symbol before eating. Eggs that bear a British Lion mark is a guarantee that they have been laid by hens vaccinated against Salmonella and have been produced to the highest standards of food safety. This red stamp should be printed on the egg shell itself, as well as on the eggs box alongside the best before date. It is especially important that pregnant women, elderly people and other vulnerable groups, including infants and children, only eat runny eggs that have come from an egg bearing this symbol.

Cooking eggs thoroughly, such as through hard boiling, kills any Salmonella bacteria that may be present, but soft boiled eggs, where the yolk is runny and not fully cooked, can still harbour Salmonella. As such, people are urged to only eat runny eggs that are produced under the Lion Code with a British Lion mark as these have been vaccinated against Salmonella.

If an egg doesn’t bear this symbol, people with weakened immune systems who are more vulnerable to infection and likely to suffer more serious symptoms from food poisoning are advised to only eat eggs if they are thoroughly cooked.

Food Standards Scotland explains: “People who are in good health (those who are not vulnerable to infection) are unlikely to experience food poisoning through consuming UK hen eggs. Therefore, people in this group can eat raw or soft boiled UK hen eggs, or foods containing lightly cooked UK hen eggs.

“People who are more vulnerable to infection or who are likely to suffer more serious symptoms from food poisoning need to be more careful. This includes young children, pregnant women and elderly people. 

“People in these groups can eat raw or lightly cooked UK hen eggs or foods containing them as long as the eggs are produced under the Lion Code with a British Lion mark or under the Laid in Britain egg assurance scheme. Dishes or food made with raw/lightly cooked eggs include mayonnaise, soufflé and tiramisu for example.

“If the eggs are not Lion Code or Laid in Britain, or if in doubt, people who may be more vulnerable to infection are advised to eat eggs thoroughly cooked.”

Almost 90% of eggs in the UK are now produced within the Lion scheme, with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) updating its advice following a review in 2016. It means anyone, including pregnant women, babies and the elderly, can now enjoy dippy eggs safely providing they have the British Lion mark on.

Following the change in advice, Heather Hancock, Chairman of the Food Standards Agency, at the time said: “It's good news that now even vulnerable groups can safely eat UK eggs without needing to hard-boil them, so long as they bear the British Lion mark. The FSA has thoroughly reviewed the scientific evidence about the safety of these eggs, and we're confident that we can now change our advice to consumers.

“The major reduction in the risk of salmonella in Lion eggs is testament to the work carried out by egg producers. The measures they've taken, from vaccination of hens through to improving hygiene on farms and better transportation, have dramatically reduced salmonella levels in UK hens.”