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Vulnerable Britons have been urged to avoid runny eggs while eating out amid a deadly Salmonella outbreak.

Food Standards Agency (FSA) chiefs said over 65s, children under five, pregnant women and people with health conditions should avoid the eggs, as well as mayonnaise and hollandaise sauce, when eating from cafes, restaurants and takeaways.

The warning comes as one Briton has died and more than 200 have been struck down with salmonella food poisoning, in what health chiefs have declared a national outbreak.

It is thought that the spread is being driven by imported eggs but the Government has not yet confirmed the country of origin.

FSA chiefs say anyone eating out should also avoid products that may contain eggs.

However, well-cooked eggs remain safe to eat, they said.

Experts have told the Daily Mail that UK-produced eggs, which have a British Lion mark, are also safe.

FSA chief scientific adviser Ian Young said the current outbreak is 'unusually large and rapidly increasing' as he warned 'people need to be careful.'

Vulnerable Britons have been urged to avoid runny eggs while eating out amid a deadly Salmonella outbreak

He told the BBC: 'If people are eating out or consuming eggs or egg-containing products from cafes and restaurants then for those people in particular who are young, elderly, pregnant or vulnerable, it's important to make sure that any eggs or egg products that you consume in those settings have been very well cooked.'

However, he stressed that British eggs from supermarkets are not linked to the outbreak and remain safe to consume.

The Government was previously warned of the dangers of imported eggs in a major report published earlier this year by industry experts, which highlighted 'significant' safety risks of importing eggs from countries like Poland and Ukraine.

While most eggs on supermarket shelves are produced in the UK, increasing quantities are being brought in from overseas where farmers use practices that are banned in the UK.

Egg imports to the UK have risen by 60 per cent since 2021, data shows. Exports from Ukraine jumped by 65 per cent in the last year alone.

The origin of the current outbreak is unknown and officials are said to be investigating.

Paul Wigley, a professor in animal microbial ecosystems at University of Bristol told the Daily Mail this week that the source of the contaminated eggs 'should be public information'.

'If necessary, restrictions should be imposed on importations.'

Professor Wigley added that non-British eggs come from a 'lower standard'.

'A UK-produced egg will come from a hen that's vaccinated against Salmonella,' he said.

'Every flock is tested for Salmonella roughly three to four times, every two years. You're extremely unlikely to get Salmonella from a British egg – there's almost zero risk.'

So far, 199 cases from the current outbreak have been confirmed in England, six in Scotland, one in Wales and one in Northern Ireland.

The specific strain identified is Salmonella Enteritidis, commonly found in poultry and eggs.

More than a third of those affected needed hospital treatment, while two developed potentially life-threatening bloodstream infections, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said, and one died.

The UKHSA previously confirmed that those affected had become sick after eating in cafes and restaurants.

It has identified five unnamed food businesses which two or more of those affected had reported attending in the week before getting symptoms.

Official guidance states that salmonella is typically caught by eating contaminated foods. As well as eggs, these include poultry, meat, raw fruit and vegetables and unpasteurised dairy products.

Cooking foods thoroughly usually destroys the pathogen, which is why runny yolks are higher risk.

The disease usually causes symptoms such as a fever and vomiting which then clear in a few days. But in rare cases it can be fatal, with infants, pregnant women, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems being most at risk.

In March, the British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) warned the Government that the public may be exposed to 'significant' risks as a result of importing eggs from elsewhere in Europe.

In its report, entitled Shell Shocked, the council found there had been an increase of 600 million imported eggs to the UK since 2021, largely driven by rising intake from Ukraine and Poland.

They raised particular fears over Ukraine's use of battery cages – small enclosures made completely of wire which have been banned in the UK since 2012 – on its chicken farms.

The BEIC said receiving imported eggs from Ukraine risked 'undermining the integrity of the British egg market' and raised 'significant food safety, economic, ethical and reputational concerns'.

They added: 'The principle is simple: if a production system is not legal in the UK, its products should not be allowed to enter the UK market, and neither should food produced to lower food safety standards.'

Furthermore, the report warned: 'Imports of eggs... may expose the British public to potential risks, including Salmonella, chemical residues, and eggs produced in conventional 'battery' cages'.

BEIC chief executive Nick Allen added: 'It is deeply concerning that imported eggs are once again under scrutiny in connection with a serious Salmonella outbreak.

'We have repeatedly raised concerns about the risks associated with imported eggs and egg products with Government, most recently through our Shell Shocked report.'

Meanwhile Kevin Coles, of the British Egg Information Service, told the Mail that people have the right to know where their eggs come from, particularly in the case of an outbreak.

'We have been urging the Government to protect British consumers by banning imported eggs for a while,' he said.

'But in the meantime, you can check if your eggs are British by looking for the British Lion mark.'

Jacquelyn McCormick, Head of Incidents at the FSA, said: 'We are working closely with the UK Health Security Agency and other partners to investigate an outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis.

'The exact cause has not yet been identified, however investigations so far have identified links to eggs imported from outside the UK, mainly used by food service and catering establishments such as restaurants or cafes, as a potential source.

'There is no evidence that UK-produced eggs are affected.'

The outbreak comes at the same time Belgium battles its own Salmonella spread linked to eggs.

Around 300 people – who are as young as one and as old as 96 – are said to be ill, which is up from 236 in May.

Laerco BV, a Belgian egg producer, has issued a second withdrawal and recall of eggs in August after the first one in May.

The eggs are said to have also been distributed to France, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands.

A major outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis linked to eggs from Poland was seen between 2017 and 2020.

It saw almost 1,000 cases of Salmonella, most of which were found in the UK.