McDonald’s to serve Irish free range eggs

A FAST food giant has teamed up with Irish producers to ensure that customers here enjoy a healthier breakfast.

McDonald's will now serve only Bord Bia Quality Assured Irish free range eggs with all of its breakfast meals in Ireland.

The world's largest fast food chain made the move in response to growing customer demand for free range eggs and high-quality natural food.

"We are delighted that McDonald's has decided to serve only Irish free range quality assured eggs, and look forward to meeting the growing consumer demand for the highest quality food," said John Mohan, Chairman of the Irish Egg Association.

"We would urge other major food service providers to consider using only Irish quality assured eggs, as all recent market surveys show that this is what Irish consumers want."

Each egg produced under the Bord Bia Quality Assurance Scheme is stamped with the distinctive shamrock egg quality mark.

This means that it was produced using best practices and is fully traceable from farm to table.

The Bord Bia Quality Assurance Scheme is an internationally recognised standard in egg production, and was developed in association with industry experts and regulatory authorities.

Ireland is one of only four EU countries the other three are all Scandinavian which have an EU-approved salmonella plan.

This places Ireland in the world premier league for the production of eggs.

All farms registered under the scheme must reach and maintain a level of compliance which far exceeds the legal requirements.

They are also tested and monitored on a monthly basis.

The humble egg has recently been receiving welcome support from many health and fitness gurus, in areas ranging from yoga and skincare to rugby, who have praised it for its health values, convenience, wholesome naturalness and versatility.