FDA is making available its publication “Guidance Document for Industry: Questions and Answers Regarding the Final Rule, Prevention of Salmonella Enteritidis in Shell Eggs During Production, Storage, and Transportation.” The document, intended to assist egg producers and other interested parties covered by the final rule, contains questions the agency received on the final rule since its publication and responses to those questions.
Question 3 in the guidance document is of particular interest. It is as follows:
Question 3: Am I covered by the egg rule if I am an owner of broiler breeder flocks (breeding hens that supply hatching eggs) and I occasionally send surplus eggs to either the table egg market or to an egg products facility for breaking?
Answer: Yes. Under § 118.1(a), you are covered by some or all of the requirements of the egg rule if you own 3,000 or more layers at a particular farm and do not sell all your eggs directly to consumers. Under § 118.1(a)(2), if all of your surplus eggs receive a treatment (as defined in § 118.3), you must comply only with the refrigeration requirements in § 118.4(e) and with the registration requirements in §118.11. Under § 118.1(a)(1), if any of your surplus eggs do not receive a treatment, you must comply with all of the requirements of the rule for that farm.
The August 21 Federal Register notice is available here and the guidance document is available here.
