The research, undertaken among more than 1500 people, has shown a complete reversal of opinion over the past seven years, with 42 per cent of people now believing it is OK to eat 6 or more eggs per week, up from 19 per cent in 2008.

In addition, the number of people saying it is only OK to eat between 1 and 3 eggs fell from 45 per cent to 26 per cent.

Independent market researcher, Roger Parkyn, whose company RPA conducted the research, said: “This is great news for the UK egg industry as I believe the figures show they have reached a tipping point on this issue. The industry is now reaping the benefits of its proactive communication of the facts on eggs and cholesterol to avoid consumer confusion.”

Nutritionist Dr Juliet Gray comments: “For today’s nutritionists, it is not about avoiding or limiting the number of eggs you eat, it is about encouraging people to eat them and showing how eggs play an important role in a healthy balanced diet. Eggs are a great value, nutritious food, full of high quality protein and many different vitamins and minerals - almost everyone from babies through to the elderly can benefit from eating them.”

The British Egg Industry Council has been running campaigns over a number of years, most famously its Lifting the Limits campaign which generated front page national press news when the British Heart Foundation lifted its limits on eggs.