[r+lchick]

If I want to sell on my eggs to people, are there any rules and regulations I have to follow?  Thinking of ecoli and all that business we had a few years back.  Anyone out there flog their surplus?  Ros

[doganjo]

Yes, I do.  At the gate.  No regs that I know of except not to wash them as they have then been processed and come under the Defra rules.  I don't wash mine but they have been known to fall into long wet grass and come out fairly clean 

[shetlandpaul]

i wonder when people forgot were eggs come from. to expect spotless eggs is trying to hide that fact. there are in fact lots and lots of rules but don't worry you can sell to friends and family,farmers markets and at the door withot having to deal with most. its when you sell to shops it gets more painful. that wet grass tut tut you know your not ment to sell eggs that have been on the ground. anyway what classes as washing and what is wiping

[xnbacon]

Is that for real?  About not selling eggs that have been on the ground?  Thats amazing.

[doganjo]

Some of mine are laid on the ground

[Snoopy]

I would just read up on Defra to be sure.

In Ireland all eggs sold through markets and shops have to be processes through an approved egg washing system, then date stamped with red ink and graded ( I know - Crazy)     This stops you selling to local shops or at local markets.

As far as I know you can sell to anyone who comes to the farm gate for eggs.
EXCEPT
One other rule is that the purchaser has to be the eater.  i.e. If a person comes to buy your eggs at the farm gate, to use in their bed and breakfast, you are not allowed to sell them.

This is to protect people from salmonella, and to have food traceability, and I can see the reasoning behind it - I have bought eggs from farmers markets and some have been rotten, obviously found in the field and had no idea how old they were (yuck! ruined my Yorkshire Pudding mix and stank the kitchen out!)

Anyhow I only sell mine to neighbours that call to the farm, I hate having to buy eggs that have been washed and date stamped with red ink, thats not natural, and the eggs shell is porous therefore anything like flouride or chlorine in the water is now in your lovely fresh egg - as well as red ink - probaby made from cochin - even yuckier

All I can say is be glad you can produce your own eggs and eat them - and encourage others to do so too

[shetlandpaul]

yup its there. but its a shame that we have to get rid of so many eggs. candling is something that must be done to check for cracks. not required but your protecting your customers.

[dixie]

You can sell them with no regulations if you have upto 50 hens, after that its gets technical!!

[little blue]

you also cant grade them, ie 'large' 'small' etc.
 Dry wipe, dont wash (water warmer than egg allows bacteria to enter through the porous shell anyway).
You shouldnt re-use boxes either (but if you're offered them back, they're great for collecting into, and for your own)
Lastly, you cant advertise, beyond a sign on your property

[MiriMaran]

I sort of clean/polish my eggs like you do with an apple to clean them.  I sell to friends in the playgound and my OH sells at work.  We don't have any sign as we always have more customers than eggs.

We always re-use boxes and people are always very diligent in returning their boxes to us - never knew that rule.

[CameronS]

My mum sells our eggs at her school, and my dad to his "men" in the RAF,
before we sell them we wipe them briefly with a baby disinfectant wipe, but we don't rub them because the eggs are porous

[little blue]

We always re-use boxes and people are always very diligent in returning their boxes to us - never knew that rule.

I imagine it refers to boxes with labels, cos commercially they must display the egg size, use by date etc.
If you have plain boxes they shouldnt really be used for resale in case theyre contaminated (eg, my O/H is a devil for putting the shells back on the box after cracking them, so the boxes end up with raw egg on them- probably my fault for nagging him about leaving shells on the table!)

[MiriMaran]

Ah, we never use boxes that show any signs of muck or cracked egg on them - we give them to the children to play with!  Does that mean Social Services will be called as I am giving my children ecoli and Salmonella laden toys!!!

[little blue]

Yup.  And the nspcc...

[chickenfeed]

i am not sure its true but i was once told by a local farmer you can only sell eggs from hens with out cockerals running with them, since then i have always kept my layers seperate and any eggs layed by birds from mixed areas are either put in the incubator or eaten by us.