The ‘fresh’ supermarket sandwiches filled with one-month-old egg

IF YOU fancy an egg sandwich, tuna Niçoise salad or a trendy protein pot for lunch today, you may be about to change your mind.

Eggs and egg products sold by some of Britain’s biggest supermarkets, food outlets and pub chains, may have been boiled or scrambled nearly a month prior to being sold.

Brusco, a major wholesale food supplier, told The Daily Telegraph it supplied shops and restaurants with pre-cooked eggs which are designed to last up to 26 days. Pre-prepared eggs are a way for food businesses to reduce their costs, as they can avoid paying a chef to precisely batch-boil high volumes of eggs in the traditional way, the company said.

The eggs are sourced from farms in France and are pasteurised to remove harmful bacteria. They are also heated up and served in biodegradable packaging, meaning handling of the product is minimised and the packaging can be instantly recycled.

The eggs are then served as part of a restaurant meal or processed to become the egg filling in sandwiches, salads and a wide range of other shop-bought meals.

Egg sandwiches are enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people every day as they are the third most popular lunchtime sandwich choice, according to the British Sandwich Association. The top choice of sandwich filling is chicken, followed by cheese, its data shows.

Andrew Ashby, managing director at Brusco, told trade magazine The Morning Advertiser that their product offered the food industry the option of serving a popular dish quickly and consistently without wasting time on fiddly preparation.

He said: “Our eggs are of the highest quality and provide guaranteed results every time, putting a family favourite back on the menu with a process that is both time-efficient and cost-effective.”