Can under-fives have runny eggs when eating out?

Huling na-update Agosto 22, 2026

Ingles lang

Eggs Benedict with poached eggs and runny yolk on a white plate

Under-fives should not have runny or undercooked eggs when eating out, according to the Food Standards Agency, unless you can confirm the kitchen is using British Lion or Laid in Britain hen eggs — which a plated breakfast does not tell you. The same advice covers people over 65, people who are pregnant, and people with certain health conditions. Well-cooked eggs in restaurants, cafes and takeaways are a different object.

The trigger is a national outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis. The FSA and UKHSA are investigating a cluster with potential links to eggs imported from outside the UK, used mainly by restaurants, cafes and other caterers. The BBC reported more than 200 linked cases and one death as of 22 August 2026. A definitive source has not been identified.

Should under-fives avoid runny eggs when eating out?

Yes, if you cannot tell whether the eggs are British Lion or Laid in Britain. The FSA's written advice is that when you are uncertain — "like when you are eating out" — young children, older people, people who are pregnant, and people with an underlying health condition should make sure any eggs they eat are thoroughly cooked.

The BBC reported the FSA naming under-fives, over-65s, pregnant women and people with health conditions, and including freshly made mayonnaise, soufflé and hollandaise in the same caution. FSA chief scientific adviser Ian Young told the BBC the outbreak was "unusually large and rapidly increasing," and that eggs and egg products in those settings should be "very well cooked" for people who are young, elderly, pregnant or vulnerable.

That is a catering problem, not a new rule about eggs in your fridge.

Does this change the eggs you buy at the supermarket?

No. The FSA says its advice on eating eggs has not changed, and there is no evidence that UK-produced eggs are affected. The investigation so far points at eggs used outside the home, including by food businesses and caterers.

UK-produced hen eggs with the red British Lion mark, or produced under the Laid in Britain scheme, are the eggs the FSA's existing consumer advice is written around. Those stamps are on the shell and the box. They are not on a cafe plate. The egg page carries the same NHS rule this article quotes rather than rewriting.

Can a baby have a runny egg at home?

A runny yolk at home is a stamp you can check, not a texture you guess at. The NHS says babies can have eggs from around six months; whether that includes a liquid yolk is the British Lion rule in the embed below, sourced from NHS foods to avoid.

You can see the lion on the shell in your kitchen. You cannot see it on poached eggs in a cafe, which is why the FSA treats eating out as the uncertain case.

Egg is also one of the UK's 14 declarable allergens. Current NHS weaning guidance is to introduce it from around six months and keep offering it, not to try it once. If you are still deciding how to start solids, what baby-led weaning actually means is the separate question; this article does not answer it.

What about mayonnaise, hollandaise and soufflé?

Avoid freshly made versions when eating out if you are in one of the groups the FSA named. The BBC reported the agency listing mayonnaise, soufflé and hollandaise as examples of freshly made products that might contain uncooked egg, which a diner cannot verify from the plate.

That is not a ban on every sauce that has ever met an egg. It is about dishes made in the kitchen you cannot inspect, during an outbreak linked to imported eggs in food service. A jarred mayonnaise whose ingredients you can read is not what the FSA was pointing at.

At home, homemade mayonnaise sits under the same NHS egg rule as a runny yolk: it is in scope only if you can confirm the eggs are British Lion (or Laid in Britain). If you cannot, cook the egg until the white and yolk are solid instead.

How do you know if a cafe uses British Lion eggs?

You have to ask, because the stamp is on the shell and the box, not on a plated egg. Mark Williams, chief executive of the British Egg Industry Council, told the BBC: "Customers who want to enjoy a runny egg should simply ask whether British Lion eggs are being used." If the answer is vague, or the person taking the order does not know, order the egg thoroughly cooked.

"Thoroughly cooked" means the white and yolk are both solid — scrambled until set, an omelette cooked through, a poached or fried egg with no liquid yolk. Soldiers dipped into a runny middle are the dish this advice is about.

If you would rather cook eggs at home, a baked dish such as a quiche is one way to have them cooked through without standing over a pan.

Hands and tools that touched raw egg still need washing before they touch cooked food or someone's mouth. That is ordinary kitchen hygiene, and it is the same line cooking with children already draws around mixing.

Who is most at risk, and what are the symptoms?

Young children, older people, people who are pregnant, and people with underlying health conditions such as cancer, diabetes, or liver or kidney disease are the groups the FSA says are most likely to become severely unwell. The FSA is also clear that its runny-egg advice does not apply to people who are severely immunocompromised and on medically supervised diets; those people should follow their clinician.

Salmonella infection usually means fever, diarrhoea and abdominal cramps, often for several days, and most people recover at home. The FSA says anyone who is concerned should contact their GP or out-of-hours service, and anyone with severe symptoms should seek medical advice. That is their line, not a diagnosis.

The short version

In a cafe, if you cannot confirm British Lion or Laid in Britain eggs, under-fives and the other groups the FSA named should have eggs cooked until the white and yolk are solid, and skip freshly made mayonnaise, hollandaise and soufflé. At home, look at the stamp on the shell. The supermarket box is not what this outbreak investigation is about.