FDA's egg safety rule, 21 CFR part 118, covers an egg farm with 3,000 or more laying hens that doesn't sell all its eggs directly to consumers: one that sells to grocers, restaurants or a grader. Below 3,000 hens, or selling every egg straight to consumers, it doesn't apply. A covered farm keeps a written Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) prevention plan for that farm, run by someone trained in SE prevention, covering pullets from SE-monitored sources, biosecurity, rodent and fly control, cleaning after a positive test, and refrigeration at 45°F or below from 36 hours after the eggs are laid. It tests the hen house environment when the hens are 40 to 45 weeks old; a positive means egg testing or sending the eggs to be treated. The farm registers with FDA within 30 days of becoming covered and keeps its records for a year after a flock leaves production. In the example below, a Pennsylvania farm plans its move from 2,400 hens to 3,600.
The short version
- Covered: 3,000 or more laying hens at a farm that doesn't sell every egg directly to consumers.
- A written SE prevention plan for each farm, run by a trained person.
- SE-monitored pullets, biosecurity, rodent and fly control.
- Eggs held at 45°F or below from 36 hours after laying.
- An environmental test at 40 to 45 weeks; a positive means egg testing or treatment.
- Register with FDA within 30 days; keep records a year after the flock.
- TaroStack keeps each day's eggs as a lot, so a recall reaches every buyer. More below.
The plan, step by step
| When | What the rule requires |
|---|---|
| Pullets | Chicks from breeder flocks that are U.S. S. Enteritidis Clean or equivalent; the pullet house tested at 14 to 16 weeks |
| Every day | Biosecurity: visitors limited, no employees keeping birds at home, stray birds and animals kept out; rodent and fly monitoring |
| From 36 hours after laying | Eggs held and transported at 45°F or below |
| Hens at 40 to 45 weeks | An environmental test of each house; again 4 to 6 weeks after a molt |
| After a positive environmental test | Four egg tests at two-week intervals, or the eggs diverted to treatment |
| After a positive egg test | Eggs diverted to treatment until four tests are negative, then a monthly egg test for the life of the flock |
Below 3,000 hens, the carton statement and 45°F at the store still apply, in egg business license, and the cartons themselves in how to package eggs for sale.
The rules
| Rule | Where |
|---|---|
| Who's covered | 3,000 or more laying hens at a farm that doesn't sell all its eggs directly to consumers; if all eggs are treated, only refrigeration and registration (21 CFR 118.1) |
| The plan | Written, for each farm: pullets, biosecurity, pest control, cleaning and disinfection, refrigeration at or below 45°F ambient from 36 hours after laying (21 CFR 118.4) |
| Testing | Environmental tests at 40 to 45 weeks and after a molt; a positive leads to four egg tests at two-week intervals, or treatment (118.5, 118.6) |
| Records and registration | Records dated and initialed when the work is done, kept a year after the flock leaves production; the farm registered with FDA within 30 days, no fee (118.10, 118.11) |
This is general information, not legal advice.
An example: growing to 3,600 hens
Meadowlark Egg Farm, the made-up egg farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, I use in these examples, sells pastured eggs at its farm stand and to two grocers. A third house would take it from 2,400 hens to 3,600, and under the rule. The owner's list before the new flock arrives:
| Step | What the farm did |
|---|---|
| Register with FDA | On the calendar for the week the new flock arrives, within the 30 days |
| The written plan | Written for this farm, dated and signed by the owner, who took SE prevention training |
| Pullets | Ordered from a grower that raises SE-monitored pullets, with its pullet house test results |
| Biosecurity | Boot changes at each house door, a visitor log, and no employees keeping chickens at home |
| Rodents and flies | Traps checked weekly and fly cards in each house, logged |
| Refrigeration | A cooler logging 45°F or below; eggs gathered twice a day, in the cooler well within 36 hours |
| Testing | An environmental test of each house when its hens are 40 to 45 weeks old, on the calendar |
The grocers asked for nothing new; the rule turns on the farm's hens and where its eggs go. Selling every egg at the farm stand would have kept it outside the rule, but the grocers are half the sales. The farm's year is planned as in egg business plan.
Get the checker
Download the SE testing schedule. One sheet: each house, its flock's hatch date, and its pullet and layer test results; the 14-to-16-week and 40-to-45-week test windows and the next step fill in. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The schedule keeps the tests on time. Which eggs went to which grocer, from which day, is what a positive test or a recall needs, and a test calendar doesn't hold that.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each day's eggs as a lot, so where every case went is on record.
Lots by day. Each day's gathering is a lot with its date, so a case of eggs carries the day it came from.
First-expired-first-out. Orders take the oldest lots first by default.
Recalls. If a house tests positive, one report shows every grocer and customer who got its eggs.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Which day a case came from | Written on the case | Its lot |
| Which eggs go out first | Dates on tape | First-expired-first-out |
| Who got a house's eggs | Invoices | One recall report |
Lots, first-expired-first-out and recalls 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.