Can I sell eggs in British Columbia?

Do I need a license to sell eggs in British Columbia?

Not from the BC Egg Marketing Board, at 99 hens or fewer. Its Consolidated Order says a producer who keeps no more than 99 Layers, counted together across one facility, a shared arrangement or facilities next to each other, does not require a permit or licence. The board encourages these producers to register with it and with the Ministry's Premises ID program.

The grading rule is separate. The Egg Grading and Standards Regulation (B.C. Reg. 306/2016) does not apply to a domestic egg that a producer distributes, from the producer's farm or residence, to a consumer. A "producer" sells only eggs from its own farm, and a "consumer" buys for personal use, not for resale. Eggs sent anywhere else must be graded, processed and marked under the federal program the regulation adopts.

The board's page also says every municipality has its own rules about backyard chickens, so check your local bylaws.

Source: BC Egg Marketing Board, Consolidated Order, Part II s. 3(1), B.C. Reg. 306/2016, ss. 1, 2 and 3 and BC Egg: Small Lot Farms and Backyard Flocks.

How many eggs can I sell without a license in British Columbia?

The limits are in hens, not eggs or dozens. Up to 99 hens, no board permit or licence. From 100 to 399 hens, the board's Small Lot program. At 400 hens and more, a registered producer holds quota the board issues, which is outside what this directory is built for.

The Order lists what a Small Lot producer is: at least 19 years old, holding no layer quota (nor a spouse), producing organic, heritage breed, free range or free run eggs to a recognized certification standard, and selling ungraded eggs direct to the end consumer at the farm gate or farmers markets, or graded eggs direct to the end consumer. The board's page says farms in this range "should register" and states an annual permit fee of $250 (CAD). Its 2022 guidelines call the program a permit program and list holding the permit among the conditions; the Order's current text does not list it. The sources do not agree on whether the permit is a condition, and we settle neither. Ask the board.

Source: BC Egg Marketing Board, Consolidated Order, Part II s. 3, BC Egg: Small Lot Farms and Backyard Flocks, BC Egg Small Lot Producer Guidelines (December 2022) and B.C. Reg. 173/67, British Columbia Egg Marketing Scheme, 1967, s. 37.

Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in British Columbia?

The sources do not line up on ungraded eggs, and we settle neither. The grading regulation's exception names the producer's farm or residence, and a market stall is neither. The board's Order and its pages, though, describe a Small Lot producer selling ungraded eggs direct to the end consumer "at the farm gate or farmers markets", and the BC Centre for Disease Control's guideline says shell eggs may be sold at temporary food markets.

That guideline (last revised August 2020) asks for sound, clean shells, eggs kept at an internal temperature of 4°C in transport and on display, clean crates, and the farm or producer's name and the packaging or sale date on the crates. Ask your regional health authority and the board before you take eggs to a market.

Source: B.C. Reg. 306/2016, ss. 2 and 4, BC Egg Marketing Board, Consolidated Order, Part II s. 3(2), BC Egg: Selling Ungraded Eggs and BCCDC: Guideline for the Sale of Foods at Temporary Food Markets, Appendix III A.

Can I sell eggs to a restaurant, a store or someone who resells them in British Columbia?

Not ungraded. The regulation lets a producer send ungraded eggs to only three places: the BC Egg Marketing Board, a registered egg station or a registered processed egg station. Its farm-gate exception stops at a consumer, who buys for personal use and not for resale.

The board's page says it directly: eggs sold to restaurants and stores, or donated to food banks and community dinners, must be graded by a registered shell egg grading station. Selling graded eggs to a store or restaurant means your eggs are graded first, a step beyond what this directory is built for.

Source: B.C. Reg. 306/2016, ss. 1, 2, 3(2) and 4 and BC Egg: Selling Ungraded Eggs.

Do I need to grade or label my eggs in British Columbia?

The board's page lists what ungraded eggs need: clean cartons marked "Ungraded" in letters at least two centimetres high, labelled with the farm or producer's name and the packaging date. We did not find that marking in the regulation's own text, which has no carton wording for the farm-gate exception, so the board is the source for it. Never pack, mark or label eggs so a buyer would think they were graded.

On reuse, the Ministry's egg handling guidance says cardboard trays that cannot be cleaned should be used once and discarded, and wire or plastic-coated trays can be reused if washed and sanitized. A Ministry fact sheet calls it a best practice not to reuse trays, to use only trays from your own farm and to cover any other grader's label.

The federal egg rules the CFIA lists cover eggs imported, exported or sent from one province to another, not a sale within British Columbia.

Source: BC Egg: Selling Ungraded Eggs, BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food: Good Agricultural Practices, 9.4 Egg handling, BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food: Best Industry Practices for Small Flock Egg Handling and Selling and CFIA: regulatory requirements for eggs.

Do eggs have to be refrigerated to sell in British Columbia, and at what temperature?

The board's page says ungraded eggs are kept at 4°C until they leave the producer's possession, and the Ministry's guidance says to store eggs below 4°C at 70 to 75 percent relative humidity. The health authority guideline for markets asks for an internal temperature of 4°C in transport and on display.

A Ministry fact sheet says eggs should be stored below 10°C, preferably at 4°C, so the Ministry's own papers differ on the number. The regulation's text names no storage temperature. Ask the board or your health authority.

Source: BC Egg: Selling Ungraded Eggs, BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food: Good Agricultural Practices, 9.4 Egg handling, BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food: Best Industry Practices for Small Flock Egg Handling and Selling and BCCDC: Guideline for the Sale of Foods at Temporary Food Markets, Appendix III A.

Can I sell duck, quail or other eggs in British Columbia?

The sources we read speak of the domestic hen's egg. The grading program the regulation adopts applies only to domestic hen eggs, and the regulation's "domestic egg" adds only the domestic turkey's. The board's scheme regulates the eggs of the domestic hen. None of them says anything about duck or quail eggs, so we print no rule. Ask your regional health authority and the Ministry before you sell them.

Source: B.C. Reg. 306/2016, ss. 1 and 3(1) and B.C. Reg. 173/67, s. 15.

Do I have to wash or candle eggs to sell them in British Columbia?

The regulation's text does not ask you to wash or candle eggs for a sale from the farm or residence. The board asks that ungraded eggs be clean with no visible cracks or leaks. The Ministry's guidance is to clean eggs as soon as you collect them, with potable water about 10 degrees warmer than the egg, to remove cracked, leaking or very dirty eggs, and to dry and cool them quickly. Its fact sheet calls candling and washing a best practice for eggs that do not go to a grading facility. Those are guidance, not rules.

Source: B.C. Reg. 306/2016, s. 2, BC Egg: Selling Ungraded Eggs, BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food: Good Agricultural Practices, 9.4 Egg handling and BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food: Best Industry Practices for Small Flock Egg Handling and Selling.