Selling eggs takes the ordinary business layers, a registered name, a sales tax registration where eggs are taxed, market permits, plus your state's egg rules, which is where most of the licensing happens: many states license egg sellers or set candling, grading and labeling rules, especially for eggs sold to stores and restaurants. Federal rules add three things for a small flock. Every carton carries FDA's safe handling statement, boxed, unless the eggs are pasteurized. Stores and restaurants hold shell eggs at 45 °F or below. And the bigger federal programs start at 3,000 laying hens: FDA's egg safety rule covers flocks of 3,000 or more that don't sell every egg directly to consumers, and USDA's shell egg rules exempt flocks of 3,000 or fewer from their restricted egg provisions. In the example below, a 400-hen farm works through the list. Below are the layers, the federal rules, the example, and a free checklist.
The short version
- Business layers: a business name, a tax registration where needed, market permits.
- State egg rules: a license, candling, grading or labeling rules, often for sales to stores and restaurants.
- Every carton: "SAFE HANDLING INSTRUCTIONS: To prevent illness from bacteria: keep eggs refrigerated, cook eggs until yolks are firm, and cook foods containing eggs thoroughly." Boxed, with the heading in bold.
- Retailers hold shell eggs at an ambient 45 °F or below.
- FDA's egg safety rule: 3,000 or more laying hens at a farm, unless all eggs are sold directly to consumers.
- USDA's restricted egg rules exempt producers with flocks of 3,000 hens or fewer.
- TaroStack gives each day's eggs a lot and keeps where every case went. More below.
The layers
| Layer | Who issues it | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Business name | State or county | An LLC filing, or an assumed name for a sole proprietor |
| Tax registration | State tax department | Whether eggs are taxed where you sell, and registration before selling |
| State egg rules | State department of agriculture | Egg licenses, candling, grading, carton labels, reusing cartons |
| Market permits | Market organizers | Vendor applications |
| Local | City or county | Business license or zoning rules for a farm stand |
Every state differs; check with your department of agriculture. This is general information, not legal advice.
The federal rules
| Rule | What it says |
|---|---|
| Safe handling statement, 21 CFR 101.17(h) | On all shell egg cartons, intrastate or interstate, unless processed to destroy Salmonella; on the principal display panel, information panel or inside the lid, with "Keep Refrigerated" outside if it's inside; set off in a box |
| Retail refrigeration, 21 CFR 115.50 | Shell eggs at a retail establishment stored and displayed at an ambient 45 °F (7.2 °C) or below |
| Egg safety rule, 21 CFR part 118 | Producers with 3,000 or more laying hens at a farm, that don't sell all their eggs directly to consumers |
| USDA shell egg rules, 7 CFR 57.100 | Producers with a flock of 3,000 hens or less are exempt from the restricted egg provisions |
For eggs not sold straight to consumers, such as cases going to a restaurant, the safe handling statement can be on the invoice instead, as the trade does it. How a carton's pack date can be coded is in julian date code format.
An example: a 400-hen farm
Clover Hollow Farm, the made-up egg farm in Franklin, Tennessee, I use in these examples, keeps 400 pastured hens and sells at two markets, through an egg share, and to three grocers and two restaurants:
| Layer | Clover Hollow |
|---|---|
| Business name and sales tax | Registered |
| State egg rules | Checked with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture before the first grocer |
| Market permits | Vendor applications for both markets |
| Safe handling statement | Printed in a box on every carton |
| Cold holding | Eggs kept cold on the farm and in the truck; grocers hold them at 45 °F or below |
| FDA egg safety rule | Not covered: 400 hens |
| USDA restricted egg rules | Exempt: under 3,000 hens |
| Insurance | Product liability, which a grocer asked for |
The restaurants get their eggs in flats, so the statement goes on the invoice. What a dozen costs and earns is in egg business plan, and how a lot follows a case in what is lot tracking.
Get the checklist
Download the egg business license checklist. One sheet: each layer and federal rule, who issues it, what it is, whether you need it, what it cost, when it was done and when it renews, with a status that stays yellow until it's done. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
Licenses are a one-time job. A grocer's questions aren't: which day's eggs are in this case, when were they packed, and if a customer gets sick, which stores got that day's eggs.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack gives each day's eggs a lot and keeps where every case went.
Each day a lot. A day's collection is a batch with a lot and its pack and best-before dates, and lot labels print for the cases.
Where it went. Each grocer's and restaurant's order records the lots it got, so one recall report shows every customer a day's eggs reached.
Oldest first. First-expired-first-out is the default, so the oldest lot goes out first, and a forecast shows what will expire unsold.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Which day's eggs are in a case | The date on the flat | The lot on its label |
| Which grocers got that day | Invoices | One recall report |
| Which cartons to sell first | Remembered | First-expired-first-out |
Lots, batches, expiry and orders are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.