The United Kingdom has approved the consumption of raw and lightly cooked eggs produced under the Laid in Britain assurance scheme for vulnerable groups including infants, children, pregnant women, and the elderly. This decision was made after the scheme was found to produce eggs with a "very low" risk of Salmonella by regulators such as the Food Standards Scotland (FSS) and the Food Standards Agency (FSA). The scheme requires all hens to be vaccinated against Salmonella and uses competitive exclusion as an additional disease control method. However, those with a severely weakened immune system should still cook all eggs thoroughly. The change in advice comes after outbreaks of Salmonella infections linked to eggs in recent years.