There haven't been as many egg stories around since Edwina Currie was a health minister. The Daily Mail claims that millions of eggs imported from Spain are contaminated with salmonella. The story appeals both to the hypochondria and xenophobia, of the paper and its readers.
It claims that figures from the Food Standard Agency suggest that one in eight boxes of eggs from Spain are contaminated with salmonella. The Mail reminds readers that the bug can cause death. But the agency itself is not so alarmist.
It points out that most of the contamination is confined to just three Spanish egg farms. And it calmly advises consumers that "Cooking eggs until the white and yolk are solid kills any bacteria".
But government officials are apparently far from calm over a separate egg scandal in the news today. According to the Telegraph, they have read the riot act to the egg industry following the discovery that millions of factory-farmed eggs are being sold as free range.
The RSPCA is also appalled, urging consumers to only buy eggs with Freedom Food labels, which it claims are a guarantee of the highest standard of animal welfare.
But Choice Cut says that consumers are begging to be conned by paying extra for food that has little difference in taste, just because it has an ethical labels.
