USDA Amends Shell Egg Regulations

WASHINGTON - Apr 21/06 - SNS == The USDA amended regulations governing the voluntary shell egg grading program by changing the requirements for shell eggs that may be packed into cartons with the USDA grade shield. The amended requirements will become effective June 19, 2006.

The Agricultural Marketing Service wants to be certain that the USDA shield provides the best available assurance of shell egg quality to the consumer. These amendments are intended to enhance the quality of USDA consumer graded eggs.

The regulations will permanently prohibit a processor from packing eggs into cartons with a USDA grade shield if those eggs had been previously shipped for retail sale and returned to the processor. AMS suspended this practice on an interim basis on April 27, 1998.

Additionally, the regulations will also prohibit eggs laid more than 21 days before the date of packing from being identified with the USDA grade shield. Current regulations have a 30-day requirement.

A proposed rule, with request for comments, was published in the July 27, 1999, issue of the Federal Register. Three comments were received, each stating general understanding of and agreement with the proposed rule. Regarding the current 30-day requirement, the proposal suggested reducing it to 15 days. The proposed rule also requested suggestions of other periods of time between 15 and 30, such as 21 days. The commenter representing egg producers recommended 21 days to allow for any unexpected disruptions that could occur during trading, shipping, processing, and packaging eggs.

Currently, about one-third of U.S. table eggs are marketed under USDA's voluntary shell egg grading program. Shell egg processors that choose to use this service pay a fee to have AMS graders in their plants monitor processing operations and verify the grade and size of eggs packaged into packages bearing the USDA grade shield.