Denmark has received a special allowance from the EU to require all egg imports to be free of salmonella bacteria, according to Copenhagen Post.

European Union health authorities agreed last week to a Danish application for 'special status' that will ensure all eggs imported into the country are guaranteed by their distributors as being 100 per cent salmonella-free.

Eva Kjer Hansen, the food and veterinary minister, called the approval from Brussels a 'breakthrough' and said Denmark would also be seeking special status for chicken meat imports as well.

According to Statens Serum Institut, the national disease control centre, 3,700 Danes suffered from salmonella-related illnesses last year and that four people have died of salmonella poisoning since October.