Can I sell eggs in Vermont?

Do I need a license to sell eggs in Vermont?

Chapter 27 of Title 6 of the Vermont Statutes, the egg chapter, sets up no license, permit or registration for selling eggs. What it asks is a mark and a standard. It applies to “all shipments, containers, or displays in which eggs are packed, distributed, sold, held in storage, offered, or exposed for sale” (6 V.S.A. §351a). Each container of eggs sold, exposed, offered or advertised for human consumption “must be plainly and conspicuously marked with the proper designation of the size and quality grades” (§354). A person shall not “sell, offer for sale, deliver, or donate eggs that do not satisfy the requirements of this chapter or the rules adopted pursuant to it” (§352(3)). The Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets’ Shell Egg Labeling Guide (July 2023) says it plainly: “Egg producers and egg retailers do not require a license or registration to operate in Vermont.” The guide adds that a producer with 3,000 or more laying hens “must register with the FDA and comply with 21 CFR part 118,” and the federal rule covers such a farm only if it “does not sell all of your eggs directly to consumers” (21 CFR 118.1).

The egg chapter has no small-flock exemption from the grade and size mark. The Agency’s rule defines a producer as “any person who owns or controls one or more domestic chicken hens and who sells, or offers for sale, eggs produced by the animals,” and then asks each container to carry a grade and a size (Section III), with a note that “All eggs must be graded excepting eggs of mixed quality being sold by one dealer to another dealer as ‘ungraded’ or ‘Nest Run’” (Section IV). The Agency’s guide adds that “Ungraded” and “nest run” “are not official grade terms for eggs sold at retail.” The Agency’s 2020 market sheet reads differently for a small flock, and the next answers quote it. Section 4351 of the health statute (18 V.S.A.) is a separate layer: “A person shall not operate or maintain a food manufacturing facility, retail food establishment, lodging establishment, children’s camp, seafood vending facility, or any other place in which food is prepared and served, unless he or she obtains and holds from the Commissioner a license.”

The Department of Health’s statute does not define “retail food establishment.” It defines a food manufacturing establishment as premises “used, occupied, or maintained for the purpose of manufacturing, preparing, packing, canning, bottling, keeping, storing, handling, serving, or distributing food for sale” (18 V.S.A. §4301(a)(10)), and it defines a food service establishment as “entities that prepare, serve, and sell food to the public, including restaurants, temporary food vendors, caterers, mobile food units, and limited operations as defined in rule” (§4301(a)(11)). The Department’s 2003 rule, which predates that wording, defines it as a place where food “intended for individual service and consumption is routinely provided completely prepared.” The exemptions on the Department’s pages are for small food processors (the statute says gross receipts of “$10,000.00 or less,” and the Department’s pages say “less than $10,000.00”), cottage food operators ($30,000 or less, and only for foods that need no refrigeration or temperature control) and home-based food businesses, and they list eggs among the foods that need temperature control. The chapter also says “Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to modify or affect laws or rules of the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets” (§4301(b)), and the Department’s manufactured food rule does not reach “establishments that process food solely under the regulatory oversight of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, & Markets.” None of these sources says in words whether a farm that sells only the eggs of its own hens needs a Department of Health license, or does not. Ask the Department of Health’s Food and Lodging Program and the Agency’s Food Safety and Consumer Protection Division.

Source: Vermont Statutes, 6 V.S.A. §351a, Vermont Statutes, 6 V.S.A. §354, Vermont Statutes, 6 V.S.A. §352, Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, Shell Egg Labeling Guide, 21 CFR 118.1, Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, egg rule, Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, Overview of Regulations for Farmers Markets, Vermont Statutes, 18 V.S.A. §4351, Vermont Statutes, 18 V.S.A. §4301, Department of Health, Health Regulations for Food Service Establishments, Department of Health, Home-Based Food Licenses and Exemptions and Department of Health, Manufactured Food Rule.

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

No dozen or hen limit appears in the egg chapter, the Agency’s egg rule or its guides. The marking duties reach every container “being sold, exposed, offered, or advertised for sale” (6 V.S.A. §354), whatever the count. The numbers in the sources are for other things: the tolerances for how many eggs in a lot may fall short of a grade (rule, Section V), and the federal line of 3,000 laying hens, above which a farm that does not sell all its eggs directly to consumers is covered by the Food and Drug Administration’s egg safety rule (21 CFR 118.1). The Department of Health’s sales lines are for food manufacturers and cottage food operators, and no source read applies them to eggs: the statute exempts a non-bakery manufacturer with gross receipts of “$10,000.00 or less” and a cottage food operator at “$30,000.00 or less” (18 V.S.A. §4353(a)(3)), and the Department’s page says “less than $10,000.00” for the first. The sources read say nothing more about how many eggs a farm may sell.

Source: Vermont Statutes, 6 V.S.A. §354, Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, egg rule, 21 CFR 118.1, Department of Health, Home-Based Food Licenses and Exemptions and Vermont Statutes, 18 V.S.A. §4353.

Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in Vermont?

The Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets lists eggs among the products it regulates at farmers markets, and its egg rule applies to any “container or display” of eggs, including “Signs including roadside and store egg signs” that give a price (rule, Section III; 6 V.S.A. §351a). The grade and size marks are the same at a market as anywhere else. The Agency’s market overview (updated April 2020) says eggs must be “clean and unbroken,” may go in new or used cartons if a code date or USDA shield is crossed out, and “must state that eggs are ‘Grade A’.”

The Department of Health licenses “temporary food service” for a “tent-and-table” stand at a farmers market. The statute’s fee for a fair stand is “$125.00; if operating for four or more days per year; $230.00” (18 V.S.A. §4353(a)(1)), and the Department’s page prices a single event of two or three days at $125 and a calendar year (four days or more) at $230, and for a one-day event tells vendors to call the Food & Lodging Program. It also tells “Vendors of meat, dairy, maple, honey, and produce” to “check with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food and Markets for requirements.” Eggs are not in that list, and neither the Department’s temporary food service page nor the Agency’s market overview says whether a stall that sells only shell eggs needs a temporary food service license. The sources read do not describe the rules of any one market. Ask the market’s manager, the Department of Health’s Food and Lodging Program and the Agency’s Food Safety and Consumer Protection Division.

Source: Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, egg rule, Vermont Statutes, 6 V.S.A. §351a, Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, Farm Stands, CSA & Farmers Markets, Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, Overview of Regulations for Farmers Markets, Department of Health, Temporary Food Service Establishments and Vermont Statutes, 18 V.S.A. §4353.

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

The egg rule defines a dealer as “a person who purchases eggs from producers for sale other than to consumers,” and a retailer as “any person who sells or offers for sale eggs to consumers at retail.” The statute says “The container of each lot of eggs being sold by a dealer to a retailer must be plainly marked with the dealer’s identification and the date of shipment,” and that a producer may sell a dealer eggs of mixed sizes if each lot is marked “mixed sizes” or “nest run” (6 V.S.A. §354). Between dealers, mixed quality may be marked “ungraded.” The Agency’s guide says “Ungraded” and “nest run” “are not official grade terms for eggs sold at retail.” No license for a farm that sells eggs to a store or restaurant appears in the sources read, and the Agency’s guide says egg producers need none.

A restaurant is the buyer’s own affair. The Department of Health’s rule for food service establishments says of eggs that “Only clean whole eggs, with shell intact and without cracks or checks, pasteurized whole eggs, pasteurized liquid, or egg products shall be used, and they must be stored at 41ºF or below,” and that “Shell eggs may be transported under ambient refrigerated temperature of 45ºF or less.” That rule is dated 2003, and this page does not read the newer federal food code the Department uses for other rules. Ask the Agency’s Food Safety and Consumer Protection Division and the buyer’s inspector about a particular sale.

Source: Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, egg rule, Vermont Statutes, 6 V.S.A. §354, Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, Shell Egg Labeling Guide and Department of Health, Health Regulations for Food Service Establishments.

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

The statute and the rule ask for a grade and a size on the container: “Use of one and only one official grade terms and one and only one of the official size terms” (rule, Section III). The official grades are AA, A and B, and the sizes are Jumbo (30 ounces to the dozen), Extra Large (27), Large (24), Medium (21), Small (18) and Pewee (15) (rule, Table IV). The mark goes on the carton’s cover, and “Every person selling eggs is responsible for maintaining legal grade and size markings.” “Each advertised egg price must be accompanied by the size and grade terms,” on roadside signs among others (Section III). A person shall not “pack shell eggs in containers that are not structurally sound and clean” (6 V.S.A. §354a).

The Agency’s Shell Egg Labeling Guide lists what else goes on a carton: the word “EGGS” on the front panel, the count (“12 Eggs” or “One Dozen Eggs”), the “legal name, business address, and zip code of the producer or distributor” (the street address may be left off if the place is in a local directory), and the federal safe handling statement. Federal rules put the "Safe Handling Instructions" statement on every carton of shell eggs (21 CFR 101.17(h)), and the guide gives its words: “SAFE HANDLING INSTRUCTIONS: To prevent illness from bacteria: keep eggs refrigerated, cook eggs until yolks are firm, and cook foods containing eggs thoroughly.” A sell-by date is optional. The guide says “Vermont” or “local” may be used only for eggs “harvested in Vermont from hens raised for at least one third of their life in Vermont.” The statute says a raw agricultural product is local to Vermont if it “was derived from an animal that was raised for a substantial period of its lifetime in Vermont,” which it defines as an animal “harvested in Vermont” that “lived in Vermont for at least one third of its life or one year” (9 V.S.A. §2465a(a)(5), (b)(1)(B)); the guide’s sentence does not repeat the one-year alternative. For cartons the guide says “Reused cartons: May be used but must be structurally sound and clean; previous marking that are no longer accurate must be removed, covered, or crossed out to prevent misbranding.”

The Agency’s 2020 market overview is worded differently for a small flock: “Egg cartons must state that eggs are ‘Grade A’. By Vermont law, ungraded eggs are not allowed in retail sales. Home-produced eggs may be labeled as ‘Grade A’ without undergoing testing (ex. candling).” It adds that “If eggs are sold in large or extra large cartons, producers should not have to weigh the eggs unless the eggs have been produced by certain breeds that lay much smaller than standard eggs,” and that a name and address may be on a label or a card by the display. The rule and the 2023 guide ask for a size as well as a grade and do not repeat the 2020 sheet’s words about testing or weighing. Ask the Agency which reading it holds a small flock to.

Source: Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, egg rule, Vermont Statutes, 6 V.S.A. §354, Vermont Statutes, 6 V.S.A. §354a, Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, Shell Egg Labeling Guide, 21 CFR 101.17(h), Vermont Statutes, 9 V.S.A. §2465a and Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, Overview of Regulations for Farmers Markets.

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

The egg chapter and the Agency’s egg rule set no keeping temperature for eggs sold to a household. The Agency’s guide lists the “Keep Refrigerated Statement” as optional, and says “If used, the label should state ‘Keep refrigerated at 45 F or less.’” The federal safe handling statement on the carton says “keep eggs refrigerated” (21 CFR 101.17(h)).

Other sources set numbers for other places. The Department of Health’s rule for food service establishments says shell eggs it receives “may be transported under ambient refrigerated temperature of 45ºF or less” and are stored at 41°F or below. A federal rule says “all shell eggs, whether in intrastate or interstate commerce, held for retail distribution” are stored and displayed under refrigeration at an ambient temperature “not greater than 7.2 °C (45 °F)” at a retail establishment (21 CFR 115.50). The rule defines a retail establishment as “an operation that stores, prepares, packages, serves, vends, or otherwise provides food for human consumption directly to consumers” (21 CFR 115.50(a)), so a stand that sells eggs to a consumer meets that definition on its words, and the 45°F line follows for eggs it holds. The sources read do not say how Vermont’s agencies apply it to a farm stand.

Source: Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, Shell Egg Labeling Guide, 21 CFR 101.17(h), Department of Health, Health Regulations for Food Service Establishments and 21 CFR 115.50.

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

The egg chapter defines “individual shell eggs” as “those eggs that are a product of the domesticated chicken hen and that are in the shell” (6 V.S.A. §351(a)(2)), and the Agency’s rule defines a producer by “domestic chicken hens.” The Agency’s guide says “Unless otherwise noted, the mandatory requirements in this guide primarily apply to in-shell chicken eggs. Producers of non-chicken eggs (such as duck or quail eggs) may choose to follow these guidelines where applicable.” The consumer protection statute is wider for its local-labeling rule: it defines eggs as those “of laying birds, including chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, or quail” that are in the shell (9 V.S.A. §2465a(a)(1)). The sources read do not say what a seller of duck, quail or goose eggs must mark, license or keep, or whether the Department of Health treats them differently. Ask the Agency’s Food Safety and Consumer Protection Division about the species you raise.

Source: Vermont Statutes, 6 V.S.A. §351, Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, egg rule, Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, Shell Egg Labeling Guide and Vermont Statutes, 9 V.S.A. §2465a.

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

Candling decides a grade. The statute says an egg is “fresh” if it meets United States or Vermont grade A, and “The final determination as to eggs meeting these requirements shall be made by candling” (6 V.S.A. §351(b)). It defines candling as holding and twirling the egg “before a bright light,” and a seller may not call eggs “fresh,” “native,” “nearby,” “today’s” or the like unless they are grade A or better (§352(1)). The rule sets the grades: a clean, unbroken shell, an air cell of no more than 1/8 inch (AA) or 3/16 inch (A), and a white and yolk that hold up under the light (rule, Section IV). It sets no method for washing, and defines a clean shell as one “free from foreign material and from stains or discolorations that are readily visible.” It bars a dirty egg, a leaker or a loss from a consumer grade except within the tolerances, and a check or crack is a “restricted egg.”

The Agency’s 2020 market overview says eggs must be “clean and unbroken” and that “Home-produced eggs may be labeled as ‘Grade A’ without undergoing testing (ex. candling).” The statute’s words on candling are for a determination that eggs meet the grade. The sources read do not say how a small flock proves a grade without it, or how an egg is to be washed. Ask the Agency’s Food Safety and Consumer Protection Division what a small flock is expected to have.

Source: Vermont Statutes, 6 V.S.A. §351, Vermont Statutes, 6 V.S.A. §352, Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, egg rule and Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, Overview of Regulations for Farmers Markets.