Can I sell eggs in Virginia?

Do I need a license to sell eggs in Virginia?

The egg chapter does not name one. It says producers selling a total of 150 dozen eggs or less per week produced by their own hens, or eggs purchased from other producers not to exceed 60 dozen per week, are exempt from this law, if the eggs are of edible quality and of the quality as represented. The department's Handbook for Small Food Manufacturers reads that as two paths: fewer than 150 dozen a week of your own, or fewer than 60 dozen a week purchased from another producer to sell. It says those eggs may be sold directly to consumers from a home location or at a farmers' market.

The same handbook says Food Safety administers the laws that apply to eggs exempt from the egg law, and then lists requirements for all shell eggs. The statute and the handbook don't use the same words. Ask VDACS Food Safety which applies before you treat the exemption as the whole rule.

A separate federal registration, the Shell Egg Handlers Registration Form (LPS-155), which the handbook says is on the USDA website, is for a handler who grades and packs their own eggs from 3,000 layers or more, who grades and packs eggs from somewhere other than their own flock, or a hatchery. The handbook does not put a smaller flock on that form.

Source: Va. Code §3.2-5305, Va. Code §3.2-5300 and VDACS Handbook for Small Food Manufacturers.

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

The exemption the statute writes is 150 dozen or less a week from your own hens, and, in the same sentence, eggs purchased from other producers not to exceed 60 dozen a week. It sets no hen limit. Above that line the chapter applies: eggs are marked by grade, size, ungraded or cracked, and official quality is determined by candling.

Federal egg-safety rules start at 3,000 laying hens, for a farm that does not sell all its eggs straight to consumers. The department's handbook uses that same 3,000-layer line for the shell-egg handler registration.

Source: Va. Code §3.2-5305, Va. Code §3.2-5306, VDACS Handbook for Small Food Manufacturers and 21 CFR 118.1.

Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in Virginia?

The department's handbook says a seller under the exemption may sell directly to consumers from a home location or at a farmers' market. It also says every shell egg sold in the state is clean and unbroken, free of adhering dirt or manure, refrigerated at 45°F or lower, in a clean carton, with the USDA seal marked out if a used carton still shows one.

The egg chapter says it does not exempt anyone from other food laws. The retail-food rules say they shall not apply to farmers selling their own farm-produced products directly to consumers for their personal use, whether on the farm or at a farmers' market. What the sources leave open is the handbook's list, 45°F and the carton, against the egg law's exemption. Ask VDACS Food Safety, and the market, before the first day.

Source: VDACS Handbook for Small Food Manufacturers, Va. Code §3.2-5308 and 2VAC5-585-10.

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

The handbook says eggs produced under the exemption, including its quantity limits, sanitation, labeling and grade standards, are an approved source and can be sold in retail stores and restaurants. The statute's exemption is from the egg law itself, which is the law that requires an invoice, with grade and size, when eggs are sold to a restaurant, hotel, retail store or bakery. The two don't say it the same way.

Anyone the exemption does not cover has to furnish that invoice, and a separate section has their containers marked by grade, size, ungraded or cracked. Selling for resale beyond the exemption is beyond what this directory is built for. Ask VDACS Food Safety which reading applies to a sale from your flock to a store.

Source: VDACS Handbook for Small Food Manufacturers, Va. Code §3.2-5305, Va. Code §3.2-5307 and Va. Code §3.2-5306.

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

For eggs the chapter covers, the statute has the container marked by grade, size, ungraded or cracked, and the grade rules say the grade or "ungraded", the identity and the count go on the principal display panel. A retail container sold anywhere but the premises where it was packed bears the packer's or distributor's name and address. The grade-marking sentence excepts a producer under §3.2-5305. The name-and-address sentence does not repeat that exception. Ask the department whether an exempt producer at a market still prints a name and address.

The handbook, which says it covers the exempt sales too, lists for every carton: the word eggs, the net contents of one dozen or half a dozen, the name and address of the producer or packer, a grade of AA, A or B or the word ungraded, a keep-refrigerated statement, and the safe-handling statement. "Fresh" is only for eggs that meet Grade A or better, and the handbook says that is told by candling. The statute says the same about the word fresh, and it is in the chapter the exemption is from. Ask which one binds an exempt carton.

The handbook says a carton, new or used, is clean, and a USDA seal on a used carton is marked out. Federal rules put the "Safe Handling Instructions" statement on every carton of shell eggs.

Source: Va. Code §3.2-5306, 2VAC5-570-70, Va. Code §3.2-5303, Va. Code §3.2-5304, VDACS Handbook for Small Food Manufacturers and 21 CFR 101.17(h).

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

The egg chapter and its grade rules, as read for this page, set no degree number for an exempt producer. The department's handbook says all shell eggs sold in the state are refrigerated at 45°F or lower. The retail-food rules receive raw eggs in equipment at an ambient 45°F or less and store untreated shell eggs at an ambient 45°F or less, and they say they shall not apply to farmers selling their own farm-produced products directly to consumers, on the farm or at a farmers' market.

The statute exempts that producer from the egg law, and the handbook still lists rules for those sales. Ask VDACS Food Safety which applies.

Source: VDACS Handbook for Small Food Manufacturers, 2VAC5-585-340, 2VAC5-585-820, 2VAC5-585-10 and Va. Code §3.2-5305.

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

The egg 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 and Consumer Services.

Source: Va. Code §3.2-5301.

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

Candling is how the chapter determines official quality, and that duty is for eggs not exempted in §3.2-5305. The handbook says a producer may candle their own eggs to decide a grade, and that "fresh" takes Grade A, which takes candling. It does not say an exempt producer who claims no grade must candle.

Washing: the statute and the grade rules don't say an exempt producer must wash. They do say eggs the chapter reaches are not inedible, and the handbook says every shell egg sold is clean and free of adhering dirt or manure. Its recommended handling practices, which it labels recommended, describe sanding a light soil or washing in potable water 20°F warmer than the egg and at least 90°F. That is the handbook's advice, not a rule quoted as a requirement. Ask the department before you sell eggs unwashed.

Source: Va. Code §3.2-5306, Va. Code §3.2-5302 and VDACS Handbook for Small Food Manufacturers.