Can I sell eggs in Connecticut?

Do I need a license to sell eggs in Connecticut?

Part II of Chapter 423 of the General Statutes is Connecticut’s egg law. It says shell eggs of chickens sold or offered for sale must meet a USDA consumer grade and be labeled with the grade and size (§§22-40, 22-41, 22-42), with nonconforming edible eggs sold as “undergrade eggs”, “checks”, “cracks” or “dirties” (§22-41), and that nobody may sell eggs that do not conform to the part (§22-45). Section 22-47 then makes an exemption: “Producers selling eggs of their own producing direct to household users are exempt from the provisions of this part, provided such eggs are cleaned to remove exterior debris, stored at an ambient air temperature of not greater than forty-five degrees Fahrenheit, are not adulterated and contain a label that is not false or misleading and that includes the: (1) Producer’s name and address, (2) type of egg, if not chicken eggs, (3) quantity of eggs, and (4) safe food handling instructions.” The Legislature added the conditions in 2023 (Public Act 23-184, §8), and its research office’s summary of that act says the same. The exemption names no dozen or hen limit.

The registration the part asks for is for an egg grading plant, which the statute defines as anyone who “engages in grading, washing or packing eggs in this state” (§22-48a). Each such plant registers with the Commissioner of Agriculture each October and may not “receive, distribute, process or offer eggs for sale” without a registration. The fee runs from $20 a year for six thousand dozen or fewer up to $400. A person who distributes packaged eggs to institutional, wholesale or retail establishments registers with the Commissioner of Consumer Protection. Because the §22-47 exemption is from “this part”, and this section is in the part, the text read excuses a producer selling their own eggs direct to households from it as well.

The Department of Agriculture’s shell-egg inspection guide, dated June 2020, says Connecticut “like most states and USDA, exempts sales of eggs directly to consumers from regulatory oversight except for adulteration, labeling and refrigeration.” It is guidance, it is older than the 2023 change, and it is not a statute.

The statutes read do not settle two things. They do not define “household users”; a sale to a restaurant or a store is not one to a household on its face, but the text does not say where a neighbor buying for a party stops being one. And they do not say whether a town or district director of health treats a farm’s egg stand as a food establishment. The Public Health statutes define a food establishment as an operation that “vends directly to the consumer or otherwise provides food for human consumption,” a market among them, and require a permit from the director of health for one “where food or beverages are served or sold to the public” (§§19a-36g, 19a-36i). Neither names eggs or a farm, and the food code sections say they do not limit a director of health’s authority under the local health chapters (§19a-36m). Ask your local health department.

Source: General Statutes §22-47, General Statutes §22-40, General Statutes §22-41, General Statutes §22-45, General Statutes §22-48a, Office of Legislative Research, 2023 Acts Affecting Animals and Agriculture, Department of Agriculture, Voluntary Small Shell Egg Processing Plant Inspection Program guide, General Statutes §19a-36g, General Statutes §19a-36i and General Statutes §19a-36m.

How many eggs can I sell without a license in Connecticut?

Section 22-47 sets no dozen or hen cap for a producer selling their own eggs direct to household users. The numbers in the statutes are for other things: the registration fee for an egg grading plant is set by dozens handled a year (§22-48a), and §22-326t, which defines a poultry producer as one keeping not more than five thousand turkeys or twenty thousand poultry, is the Commissioner’s inspection of poultry under the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act, not a limit on egg sales. The Department of Agriculture’s voluntary shell-egg inspection program is open to producers with more than 200 and fewer than 3,000 birds, and the Department says it exists to help small producers sell through retail establishments, distributors or food service. The Department says the federal mandatory inspection line is 3,000 laying birds.

Source: General Statutes §22-47, General Statutes §22-48a, General Statutes §22-326t and Department of Agriculture, Voluntary Small Shell Egg Processing Plant Inspection Program guide.

Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in Connecticut?

Shell eggs are named among the “farm products” a farmer may sell at a certified farmers’ market, which is one the Commissioner of Agriculture authorizes (§22-6r). A farmer’s kiosk there “shall be considered an extension of the farmer’s business”, and the regulations on selling farm products on a farm govern it, except that no farmer may falsely label an egg or offer an adulterated one. A farmer at a certified market must “obtain and maintain any license required to sell such products”, and the section says it does not “supersede the provisions of any state or local health and safety laws, regulations or ordinances.” The Public Health statutes add that the farmers-market law does not limit the Commissioner of Agriculture’s or a director of health’s authority to require a farmer to comply with §§22-6r and 22-6s (§19a-36m).

The Department of Agriculture’s Farmers Market Reference Guide, created April 2022, lists eggs in its approved-sources table with “labeling, temp requirements” as the special considerations for consumer sales and “commercial source, inspected, graded” for food service establishments, points direct farm sales questions to the Department, and lists each town’s director of health. It does not say whether a producer’s egg stand needs a local permit. It was written before the 2023 change to §22-47 and asks for “grade or size” on a label where the statute now asks for the four items above. Ask the Department of Agriculture and the market’s local health department.

Source: General Statutes §22-6r, General Statutes §19a-36m, Department of Agriculture, Farmers Market Reference Guide and General Statutes §22-47.

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

The exemption in §22-47 is for eggs sold “direct to household users”. A sale to a store or restaurant is not that, so the egg part applies to it: chicken eggs must meet a USDA consumer grade, carry the grade and size, and go with an invoice stating both when sold at wholesale (§§22-41, 22-42, 22-43), and a business that grades, washes or packs eggs registers as an egg grading plant (§22-48a). Undergrade edible eggs are sold as “undergrade eggs”, “checks”, “cracks” or “dirties” (§22-41). The other exemption in §22-47, for shippers selling to a first receiver who will grade the eggs, is written for that receiver’s grading.

The Department of Agriculture’s Farmers Market Reference Guide says eggs that are not subject to inspection by the Department or the USDA cannot be sold to wholesale or retail establishments for resale or to food service establishments such as restaurants. Its voluntary inspection program, for producers with more than 200 and fewer than 3,000 birds, exists to let small producers sell that way. It sets a Grade B or better standard. A restaurant that buys farm products at a farmers’ market must ask for an invoice from the seller with the source and date (§22-6r). Ask the Department of Agriculture about a particular sale.

Source: General Statutes §22-47, General Statutes §22-41, General Statutes §22-42, General Statutes §22-43, General Statutes §22-48a, Department of Agriculture, Farmers Market Reference Guide, Department of Agriculture, Voluntary Small Shell Egg Processing Plant Inspection Program guide and General Statutes §22-6r.

Do I need to grade or label my eggs in Connecticut?

For a producer selling their own eggs direct to households, §22-47 asks for a label that is “not false or misleading” and that includes the producer’s name and address, the type of egg if it is not a chicken egg, the quantity of eggs, and safe food handling instructions. It does not ask for a grade or size for these eggs, and it does not say whether a carton may be reused. Federal rules put the "Safe Handling Instructions" statement on every carton of shell eggs (21 CFR 101.17(h)).

Eggs sold outside the exemption carry the grade and size in clearly legible letters on the outside of the container, and advertising gives them too (§§22-40, 22-43). “Fresh eggs”, “strictly fresh eggs”, “hennery eggs” and “new-laid eggs” may not be used on eggs below Grade A or held in cold storage more than thirty days, and “Connecticut” may not go with the official grades unless the packer is registered with the Department of Agriculture and the eggs were produced on Connecticut farms (§22-44).

The Department’s Farmers Market Reference Guide, written before 2023, says a carton needs the name and address of the producer or distributor and a grade or size, which can be used only if the eggs were graded under a regulatory agency’s supervision. It says a reused carton must have the USDA shield, the original plant code and date, and the original name and address obliterated, the current producer’s name and address clearly legible, and the safe handling statement legible, and it gives that statement’s wording. That is not the statute’s list, which asks for no grade. Ask the Department of Agriculture what a carton from a small flock must show.

Source: General Statutes §22-47, 21 CFR 101.17(h), General Statutes §22-40, General Statutes §22-43, General Statutes §22-44 and Department of Agriculture, Farmers Market Reference Guide.

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

Yes, at 45°F. The producer exemption in §22-47 applies only if the eggs are “stored at an ambient air temperature of not greater than forty-five degrees Fahrenheit”. For every other seller, §22-40 says all shell eggs offered for sale are held, stored and transported at an ambient air temperature of not greater than 45°F, except that eggs may be tempered for processing for a functional reason and held no more than thirty-six hours at room temperature. The Department of Agriculture’s Farmers Market Reference Guide gives the same 45°F, and says eggs must be kept refrigerated.

Source: General Statutes §22-47, General Statutes §22-40 and Department of Agriculture, Farmers Market Reference Guide.

Can I sell duck, quail or other eggs in Connecticut?

Yes, as far as the text read goes. Section 22-47 names “type of egg, if not chicken eggs” as a label item, so its exemption reaches eggs of other birds. Shell eggs of turkeys, ducks, quail, guinea fowl and other birds whose eggs are suitable for human consumption must otherwise be labeled in compliance with the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and the federal Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (§22-40), and the grade requirements are written for chicken eggs only (§§22-41, 22-42). The Department of Agriculture’s inspection guide says no formal grades exist for eggs other than chicken, and that to put such eggs into wholesale, distribution or retail markets they may not be labeled with a grade. Ask the Department of Agriculture about the species you raise.

Source: General Statutes §22-47, General Statutes §22-40, General Statutes §22-41, General Statutes §22-42 and Department of Agriculture, Voluntary Small Shell Egg Processing Plant Inspection Program guide.

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

The exemption asks that eggs be “cleaned to remove exterior debris”, not that they be washed or candled (§22-47). Adulterated and inedible eggs, as the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and the federal Egg Products Inspection Act define them, may not be sold, and incubated eggs may not be sold for human consumption (§22-45). Candling is how the statute decides a grade (§22-41), and a producer selling under the exemption is excused the grade. The Department’s rules set the shell standards each grade rests on (§§22-27-B1 to 22-27-B3).

The Department of Agriculture’s Farmers Market Reference Guide recommends gently brushing dirty eggs, and says that if you wash them the water should be potable, at least 90°F and at least 20°F warmer than the warmest eggs, with any sanitizer registered with the EPA and labeled for the use. That is a recommendation, not a rule. A business that washes, grades or packs eggs for anyone else registers as an egg grading plant (§22-48a). Ask the Department of Agriculture what it expects.

Source: General Statutes §22-47, General Statutes §22-45, General Statutes §22-41, Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies §§22-27-B1 to 22-27-B3, Department of Agriculture, Farmers Market Reference Guide and General Statutes §22-48a.