A national salmonella outbreak linked to eggs has killed two people and infected around 600 more, and the Food Standards Agency says most infections originate in cafés, restaurants and takeaway businesses rather than retail.

The outbreak has exposed how quickly UK egg sourcing has shifted. Government data shows imports have almost doubled since 2020 and now stand at around 2 billion eggs a year. Roughly 1 in 10 eggs eaten in the UK is now laid abroad, against 1 in 30 in 2022, according to the British Egg Industry Council (BEIC). Domestic production has failed to keep pace with demand: the average Brit eats 209 eggs a year, 45 more than in 2005.

Where are the imported eggs coming from?

Until 2024 the Netherlands dominated UK egg imports. But when the EU reinstated tariffs on Ukrainian eggs in 2024 after an "emergency brake" triggered on import volumes, Ukrainian producers redirected supply to the UK, which had removed tariffs after Russia's invasion. Ukraine shipped 14,000 tonnes of eggs to the UK in 2025, up from under 1,000 tonnes the year before, and now accounts for more than 20% of UK egg imports in 2026.

BEIC CEO Nick Allen said: "The UK government has created an open door for dumping battery cage eggs produced to standards far below those required of British eggs." Conventional battery cages have been banned in the UK since 2012.

Many foreign eggs are Class B — misshapen or thin-shelled — and must be processed into liquid or powdered egg for catering and manufacturing. That channels imports into foodservice rather than retail. Supermits, legally required to display country of origin, largely avoid foreign eggs. Bidfood and Compass told Footprint they only use British Lion-marked eggs. The bulk of imported supply appears to reach smaller operators through wholesalers, where traceability is weak.

"Large retail has a high level of visibility of their egg supply chains. Large foodservice is in a similar position," said Chris Elliott, professor of food safety at Queen's University Belfast. "But as for smaller foodservice companies, the level of oversight is moderate at best." UK authorities have yet to confirm the source of the current outbreak.

Why has the sector not fixed this?

Cost pressure is decisive. Ukrainian eggs sell for around 20p less per dozen than British eggs, according to the British Free Range Egg Producers Association. Supply volatility compounds the problem: avian flu cut Dutch laying flocks, with around 3,000 cases reported across 29 European countries in autumn 2025 alone — a scale the European Food Safety Authority called "unprecedented" for that time of year.

Food safety experts say the outbreak was foreseeable. UK salmonella cases rose almost 20% in 2024 to over 10,000 incidents, prompting the BEIC to warn that "alarm bells were ringing" over imported eggs in foodservice. A survey last year found 80% of UK environmental health professionals believe imported egg products pose a greater safety risk than British eggs.

Cage-free progress underlines the gap between retail and foodservice. Compassion in World Farming's EggTrack report shows UK supermarkets have nearly completed the transition, as have chains such as JD Wetherspoon and Greggs. Foodservice lags:

• Bidfood UK: 52% cage-free on shell eggs, 47% on egg products, 83% on egg ingredients
• Sodexo UK & Ireland: 99% shell eggs, 59% egg products
• Elior UK: 100% shell eggs and egg products, egg ingredients not reported
• Compass Group UK & Ireland: the only UK foodservice company fully transitioned across all eggs

"We're finding in our conversations with foodservice companies it's a very difficult area to transform," said Dan McAlpine, senior food business manager at Compassion in World Farming. He added that sourcing decisions "generally revert back to cost and supply security over the long term", though Compass renewed thousands of product contracts at a higher welfare baseline. "It's a lot of unpicking. It's not going to happen in one year, even in two years. But it is possible."

What happens next?

Expect growing pressure on operators to guarantee supply chain integrity, and renewed debate on stricter origin labelling for the out-of-home sector, where customers cannot see where eggs come from. With the outbreak source still unconfirmed, further FSA findings and possible regulatory intervention on foodservice egg labelling are the developments to watch.