Editor’s Comment
Breaking boundaries
With the rare exception, diseases
tend not to go away; they tend to
stay lurking somewhere.
Avian influenza is a perfect case
in point. For many countries it has
disappeared from the headlines, yet
while the virus continues to actively
circulate in some others, it remains a
potential problem for all of us.
The news late last year that influenza
had been diagnosed in turkey flocks
in both the UK (HPAI) and the US
(H1N1), not only illustrates that disease
knows no borders, but those farmers
with a;ected birds had the double
misfortune of being hit at the most
economically important time of year.
In late 2009, however, there was
also positive news for those concerned
with disease control, as the European
Commission approved a Euro 275
million ($406 million) support package
for disease eradication, control and
monitoring schemes.
This year will see support go to
76 annual or multiannual eradication
programmes, which will receive Euro
174 million in funding. Alongside
this there is increased funding for
surveillance.
Euro 4 million is being made
available to Europe’s Member States
to assist with laboratory testing and
wild bird sampling costs in an e;ort
to control avian influenza.
The commission argues that
surveillance is the most e;ective way
to detect early outbreaks of both high
and low pathogenic influenzas and
has been extremely useful in previous
years, allowing early detection of
the disease in wild birds before
commercial flocks become infected.
But where have these infected
wild birds come from?
In many parts of the world, avian
influenza remains a serious problem
and is not a rare occurrence. While
the turkey farmers in the UK and
the US who lost their flocks prior to
But where have these
infected wild birds
come from?
Christmas may feel particularly hard
done by, disease will strike wherever
it can.
While nobody would criticise
increased surveillance in those
areas that are relatively una;ected
by influenza, greater support and
strengthening of international e;orts,
and helping those countries where
culling flocks happens far more
regularly may be a more thorough
and more successful approach in
bringing influenzas under control.
Like disease, our eradication e;orts
should know no boundaries. ◻
EDITOR’S FOCUS
The lion passant that appears on egg shells and egg
boxes in the UK was introduced to communicate
to consumers that the eggs they purchase are
produced following a strict code of practice.
The Lion Quality mark and Lion Quality
Code of Practice were launched in 1998.
The code includes compulsory vaccination against
Salmonella enteriditis of all pullets destined for Lion
Quality egg producing flocks, independent auditing,
improved traceability of eggs and a “best-before”
date and logo stamped on the egg shell and pack, as
well as on-farm and packing station controls.
To guarantee traceability, all breeding farms,
hatcheries, rearing and laying farms, feed mills
and packing centres must be approved.
All Lion Quality hen flocks must be accompanied by a
passport certificate and all Lion Quality egg movements must
UK’s Lion Quality eggs scheme
The UK’s Lion Quality mark, designed to reassure
consumers that eggs have been produced
following a strict code of practice.
be traceable. The impetus for the introduction
of the mark and the code can be traced
back to the 1980s and a headline-grabbing
politician attacking the UK egg industry.
New measures followed, along with development of
a new salmonella vaccine, and the code of practice and
trademark came into operation in the late 1990s. At the
same time, a new egg advertising campaign was launched.
The association with the red lion, however, dates back to
the 1950s when it was used by the then Egg Board to denote
that eggs were produced in the UK. Looking further ahead,
the organisers of London 2012 Olympic Games have stated
that all eggs used at the event must be of British Lion mark.
For more information on Lion Quality,
go to: www.lioneggs.co.uk ◻
