Can I sell eggs in Scotland?

Do I need a license to sell eggs in Scotland?

The Regulations take one kind of sale out of their rules on eggs in shell. The Eggs and Chicks (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations 2008, reg. 3(2), say Parts 2 and 3 do not apply to eggs "sold, without any quality or weight grading, directly to the final consumer by the producer" either "on the production site" or "by door to door selling in the region of production". A "final consumer" is "the ultimate consumer of a foodstuff who will not use the food as part of any food business operation or activity", and door to door selling is "a sale which is made during an unsolicited visit by a producer to the home of the final consumer, or to the home of another person, or to the place of work of the final consumer". Where the exemption is used, "no quality and weight grading may be used" (Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, Annex 7, Part 6, point I(2)).

Registering a production site with the Scottish Government is a separate matter. The Registration of Establishments Keeping Laying Hens (Scotland) Regulations 2003 have the Scottish Ministers "set up and maintain a register of establishments" (reg. 4(1)), and apply to establishments other than "those having fewer than 350 laying hens" (reg. 3). The Scottish Government Poultry Unit's guidance EMR1 says "Producers with more than 350 laying hens must be registered regardless of how the eggs are marketed", and of itself "It isn't a complete and authoritative statement of the law". A flock of exactly 350 is the Regulations' and not the guidance's, and we settle neither (#1057).

A producer code goes with the register. Commission Regulation (EC) No 589/2008, Art. 1, defines it as "the distinguishing number allocated to the production site in accordance with the legislation applying in the relevant constituent nation", and a production site as "an establishment keeping laying hens, registered in accordance with" the 2003 Regulations, whose reg. 4(2) has the Scottish Ministers "allocate to that establishment a distinguishing number". Eggs sold to shops, restaurants or bakeries are not the exemption's; see the answer on them.

Separately, every keeper of birds registers on the Scottish Kept Bird Register. The Scottish Government's page says "Anyone who keeps birds, even a single bird, must register on the Scottish Kept Bird Register" and "You must keep your details up-to-date and update them at least annually."

Registering a food business is another question again. Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, Art. 6(2), says "every food business operator shall notify the appropriate competent authority, in the manner that the latter requires, of each establishment under its control that carries out any of the stages of production, processing and distribution of food, with a view to the registration of each such establishment", and the Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006, reg. 17(1), make a failure to comply with a "specified Community provision" an offence, which their Schedule 2 says includes Art. 6(2). Art. 1(2)(c) says the Regulation "shall not apply to" "the direct supply, by the producer, of small quantities of primary products to the final consumer or to local retail establishments directly supplying the final consumer", so Art. 6 does not apply to a supply inside that exclusion. No Regulation we read says what "small quantities" are, or whether a particular egg sale is one.

Food Standards Scotland's pages read differently. Its page on registering a food business says "All food businesses must register with the environmental health service at their local authority at least 28 days before opening". Its Small Producers guidance (edited March 2022) gives "selling a dozen eggs from your farm gate" as an example of the Art. 1(2)(c) exclusion, and answers a farm that sells "small amounts of fruit & veg or eggs you have produced on farm/croft to a local restaurant" that it does "therefore do not need to register as a food business". It also says "this document does not place legal requirements upon parties nor should it be read as legal advice", and for what counts as small quantities, "You should speak to the environmental health officer from your Local Authority". The Scottish National Protocol on approved establishments (Scottish Food Enforcement Liaison Committee, January 2020, hosted by Food Standards Scotland) says "small quantities" "is not defined in Regulations", and suggests "Less than 360 eggs (i.e. less than one full case) per week." as an amount "which could be considered as small quantities". We cannot say whether a farm egg sale needs a registration (#1052). Ask your local authority's environmental health team.

Source: The Eggs and Chicks (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations 2008, regs. 3 and 8, Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, Annex 7, Part 6, The Registration of Establishments Keeping Laying Hens (Scotland) Regulations 2003, regs. 3 and 4, Scottish Government Poultry Unit: EMR1, section 1.3, Scottish Government: Poultry inspections, contact details, Commission Regulation (EC) No 589/2008, Article 1, Scottish Government: Register your birds, Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, Articles 1 and 6, The Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006, reg. 17 and Schedule 2, Food Standards Scotland: Registering a food business, Food Standards Scotland: Small Producers, Direct Supply and Scottish National Protocol on approved establishments, section 5.

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

The lines in the Regulations are in hens, not in eggs or dozens, and no Regulation we read limits the eggs a small flock may sell. The Eggs and Chicks (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations 2008, reg. 9(2), speak of the case "where a producer has no more than 50 laying hens"; the Registration of Establishments Regulations of 2003, of "those having fewer than 350 laying hens"; the Scottish Government Poultry Unit's guidance EMR1, of "more than 50 hens" and "more than 350 laying hens". The wording at exactly 350 hens differs between them (#1057).

One source gives a weekly figure, and it is a suggestion. The Scottish National Protocol on approved establishments says "small quantities" "is not defined in Regulations" and lists "Less than 360 eggs (i.e. less than one full case) per week." for eggs, with the note "This exemption only applies to the producer supplying directly to the final consumer from the farm and farmers markets and door to door." It is guidance on the hygiene exemptions, and we do not treat it as the line for either Regulation.

Salmonella control is a third matter. The Regulations apply Part 3A to "eggs to which Regulation (EC) No. 2160/2003 applies as read with the exception in Article 1(3) of Regulation (EC) No. 2160/2003" (reg. 3(1)(c)). The Scottish Government's 2010 summary of the proposed amendment says Article 1(3) leaves out "egg production leading to the direct supply of small quantities of eggs to the final consumer", and adds "It is considered that in most cases more than 350 laying hens cannot be considered as a small quantity which are supplied directly to the final consumer." We did not read Regulation 2160/2003 itself.

Source: The Eggs and Chicks (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations 2008, regs. 3 and 9, The Registration of Establishments Keeping Laying Hens (Scotland) Regulations 2003, reg. 3, Scottish Government Poultry Unit: EMR1, section 1.3, Scottish National Protocol on approved establishments, section 5.6 and Scottish Government: Summary of the Eggs and Chicks (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2010.

Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in Scotland?

A local public market is the one place away from the farm that the Regulations name. Reg. 3(2)(c) keeps Parts 2 and 3 off an ungraded sale "directly to the final consumer by the producer in a local public market in the region of production", "except in so far as they relate to the requirement imposed by point III(3) of Part VI of Annex VII to Council Regulation 2013", which is the producer-code marking: such eggs "shall be marked in accordance with point 1" (Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, Annex 7, Part 6, point III(3)). Reg. 9(2) lifts that marking "where a producer has no more than 50 laying hens if the name and address of the producer are indicated at the point of sale". The Poultry Unit's guidance EMR1 says "Producers with up to 50 laying hens may sell their eggs at a local public market, provided that the name and address of the producer is indicated at the point of sale. Producers with more than 50 hens must also stamp their eggs going for sale at a local public market with a producer code."

The producer code is the number given to a registered production site (see the answer on licenses), and the 2003 Regulations register only sites other than those with fewer than 350 laying hens. No source we read says how a farm with 51 to 349 hens gets a code to stamp (#1056). Ask the Poultry Unit before you rely on a market.

Neither the Regulations nor the guidance say what a local public market, or the region of production, is (#1058). Food Standards Scotland's protocol, on hygiene approval and not on egg marketing, speaks of a supply "from the farm and farmers markets and door to door". No source we read says that a farmers market is a local public market.

What else an ungraded egg carries at a market is not in the Regulations we read. EMR1's date and chilling rules are for packs of graded eggs (see the answer on cartons). We did not read the Food Information (Scotland) Regulations 2014. Ask your local authority's environmental health team.

Source: The Eggs and Chicks (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations 2008, regs. 3 and 9, Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, Annex 7, Part 6, point III, Scottish Government Poultry Unit: EMR1, section 1.3, The Registration of Establishments Keeping Laying Hens (Scotland) Regulations 2003, reg. 3 and Scottish National Protocol on approved establishments, section 5.6.

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

Not ungraded. The exemption in reg. 3(2)(b) of the Eggs and Chicks (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations 2008 is for a sale "directly to the final consumer", and a final consumer "will not use the food as part of any food business operation or activity", so a shop, a restaurant or a bakery is not one. Commission Regulation (EC) No 589/2008, Art. 5(1), says "Only packing centres shall grade and pack eggs and label their packs", and reg. 8 of the Scottish Regulations makes the Scottish Ministers the authority for the "authorisation of undertakings as packing centres to grade eggs".

The Poultry Unit's guidance EMR1 says "premises must be separately approved as food businesses by their local authority before trading can commence" and "Provided your equipment is of the required standard, authorisation will be granted for packing centres and a registered number will be allocated." The Scottish National Protocol, hosted by Food Standards Scotland, says "If the producer sells the eggs, to other food businesses (e.g. local shops, restaurants or bakeries etc.), they must first be graded as Class A; and, therefore, the establishment must also be approved and authorised as a packing centre for activity."

A Food Standards Scotland guidance page on the hygiene Regulations answers a farm that sells "small amounts of fruit & veg or eggs you have produced on farm/croft to a local restaurant" that it does "therefore do not need to register as a food business". That is the hygiene rule, not the egg marketing rule, and no source we read says one lifts the other. Ask the Poultry Unit.

Source: The Eggs and Chicks (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations 2008, regs. 3 and 8, Commission Regulation (EC) No 589/2008, Articles 1 and 5, Scottish Government Poultry Unit: EMR1, section 2, Scottish National Protocol on approved establishments, section 5.6 and Food Standards Scotland: Small Producers, Direct Supply, sample scenarios.

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

The rules on packs are for graded eggs. Commission Regulation (EC) No 589/2008, Art. 12, sets what a pack of Class A eggs bears, Art. 13 fixes the date of minimum durability "at not more than 28 days after laying", and Art. 17 says "packs shall be shock-resistant, dry, clean and in good repair". Schedule 2 to the Eggs and Chicks (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations 2008 lists those Articles among the provisions whose breach is an offence, and reg. 3(2)(b) takes an ungraded sale on the production site or door to door out of Parts 2 and 3. No Regulation we read prints a carton label for such a sale, or says whether a carton may be reused.

The Poultry Unit's guidance EMR1, in its section on packaging for packing centres, says "Packs, boxes or keyes trays may be re-used provided they are clean and in good condition, and that they do not show old markings which may confuse or mislead the purchaser". For graded packs it says "The maximum best-before date is 28 days from the date of lay but eggs must be delivered to the consumer within 21 days of lay" and asks for a line advising the consumer to "keep eggs chilled after purchase". Ask the Poultry Unit what, if anything, an ungraded egg sold direct must carry.

Source: Commission Regulation (EC) No 589/2008, Articles 12, 13 and 17, The Eggs and Chicks (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations 2008, reg. 3 and Schedule 2 and Scottish Government Poultry Unit: EMR1, sections 4 and 6.

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

No regulation we read sets a temperature for an ungraded egg sold direct. For Class A eggs, Commission Regulation (EC) No 589/2008, Art. 2(3), says they "shall not be treated for preservation or chilled in premises or plants where the temperature is artificially maintained" at less than 5 °C. The Poultry Unit's guidance EMR1 says "Class A eggs must not be stored artificially at temperatures below +5°C" and "During storage at the producers premises and during transport eggs must be kept in clean, dry places", and asks graded packs to carry the advice to "keep eggs chilled after purchase". Ask your local authority's environmental health team.

Source: Commission Regulation (EC) No 589/2008, Article 2 and Scottish Government Poultry Unit: EMR1, sections 4.3 and 7.

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

The egg marketing rules are for hens. Commission Regulation (EC) No 589/2008, Art. 1, defines eggs as eggs in shell "that are produced by hens of the species Gallus gallus". Bird registration is wider: the Scottish Government's page says it applies to "even a single bird". Food Standards Scotland's Small Producers guidance lists eggs among "unprocessed products of primary production" and names no species, and Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, Art. 1(2)(c), speaks of "primary products" without naming eggs. None of the sources we read says what a sale of duck or quail eggs needs. Ask your local authority's environmental health team before you sell them.

Source: Commission Regulation (EC) No 589/2008, Article 1, Scottish Government: Register your birds, Food Standards Scotland: Small Producers, Direct Supply and Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, Article 1.