Can I sell eggs in Delaware?

Do I need a license to sell eggs in Delaware?

The egg chapter does not name one. It does say which sales skip the grade rules and the container rules: producers are exempt from those sections if they sell eggs produced by their own flocks, provided such eggs are not sold at an established place of business detached from the premises of their production, and they are not advertised or displayed to the public with a price, or a size, or a quality designation, or any descriptive term the statute lists. Those terms include fresh, new laid, hennery, direct from farm, farm fresh, best, fancy and special, when the eggs are below Grade A.

Missing one of the exemption's conditions does not by itself bar the sale. The grade rules and the container rules then apply, and eggs not graded for quality or not sorted by size are marked "UNCLASSIFIED". Eggs classified inedible or loss may not be sold for human consumption either way, and the chapter does not exempt anyone from other food laws.

The department's grading and audits page, the page linked from the egg-laws index, describes grading services. It does not restate this exemption. Ask the Department of Agriculture whether a price on the carton is a display to the public.

Source: 3 Del. C. §3510, 3 Del. C. §3506, 3 Del. C. §3503, 3 Del. C. §3504, 3 Del. C. §3508, 3 Del. C. §3509 and Delaware Department of Agriculture, grading and audits.

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

The exemption states no dozen limit and no hen limit. What ends it is the place and the sign: a place of business away from the farm, or a public display of price, size, quality, or one of the descriptive words. Past that, the grade and the label apply. They are not a cap on how many you may sell.

Federal egg-safety rules start at 3,000 laying hens, for a farm that does not sell all its eggs straight to consumers.

Source: 3 Del. C. §3510, 3 Del. C. §3504 and 21 CFR 118.1.

Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in Delaware?

The exemption does not cover eggs sold at an established place of business detached from the premises of their production. The statute does not define that phrase, and no department page read for this page says whether a farmers' market stall is one. Ask the Department of Agriculture whether your market arrangement counts. If it does, or if the stall displays a price, size or quality, the grade rules and the container rules apply: Grade AA, A, B or "UNCLASSIFIED", and a size or "UNCLASSIFIED", on the container or on a sign with letters at least 1/2 inch high if the eggs are not in a labeled container.

The chapter says it does not exempt anyone from other food laws. No department page read for this page says whether a market stall also needs a health permit. Ask the Department of Agriculture and the market.

Source: 3 Del. C. §3510, 3 Del. C. §3503, 3 Del. C. §3504 and 3 Del. C. §3508.

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

A sale to a retailer or a restaurant is not the exemption: the exemption is a sale of your own flock's eggs that is not at a place of business away from the farm and is not displayed with a price or a quality. Anyone selling eggs to a retailer, restaurant, hotel or institution furnishes a dated invoice showing the exact size and quality, or invoices them as "UNCLASSIFIED".

That invoice is the statute's rule for those buyers. Selling for resale is beyond what this directory is built for.

Source: 3 Del. C. §3507 and 3 Del. C. §3510.

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

When the exemption does not apply, the container shows the grade, the size-weight class, the word eggs, the numerical count, and the name and address of the packer or distributor. Grade and size letters are at least 3/8 inch. Eggs not graded for quality are marked "UNCLASSIFIED". Eggs not sorted into a size class are marked "UNCLASSIFIED". If they are not in a labeled container, a sign next to them shows the grade and size in letters at least 1/2 inch high. "Fresh" and the words in the descriptive-term section are only for Grade A or better.

The chapter also says no one advertises eggs for sale unless the unabbreviated grade and size-weight class are shown in block letters at least half as high as the tallest letter in the word eggs or the tallest figure in the price, whichever is larger.

A reused container has any label, letter or number that does not fit the new contents obliterated or removed.

The exemption is the sale that is not displayed with a price, a size or a quality. A carton that prints those is outside it. Ask the Department of Agriculture whether a price on the carton is a display to the public.

Federal rules put the "Safe Handling Instructions" statement on every carton of shell eggs. The state chapter read for this page does not mention that statement.

Source: 3 Del. C. §3504, 3 Del. C. §3506, 3 Del. C. §3510 and 21 CFR 101.17(h).

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

The chapter says any person assembling, transporting, marketing or processing graded eggs keeps them at a temperature in accordance with United States Department of Agriculture temperature requirements. It says "graded eggs". The exemption is from the grade and label sections, not from this one, and an exempt sale is the one that does not display a quality. The statute does not say whether an unclassified or exempt egg is a graded egg for this sentence, and it does not print a degree number. Ask the Department of Agriculture.

Source: 3 Del. C. §3508 and 3 Del. C. §3510.

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

The chapter defines eggs as eggs in the shell that are the product of domesticated chickens. It says nothing about duck or quail eggs. Ask the Department of Agriculture.

Source: 3 Del. C. §3501.

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

The chapter tells the department to adopt rules for keeping, processing, transporting and selling eggs under sanitary conditions. No such rule read for this page tells a producer to wash or to candle. Inedible or loss eggs, as the USDA defines them, may not be offered for human consumption. Quality grades are the USDA consumer grades. Ask the department whether an unwashed egg, or an egg no one has candled, can be sold under the exemption or marked unclassified.

Source: 3 Del. C. §3508, 3 Del. C. §3509 and 3 Del. C. §3503.