The definitions in Article 2(1) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 and points 5 and 7.3 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 shall apply as appropriate.
Commission Regulation (EC) No 589/2008 of 23 June 2008 laying down detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 as regards marketing standards for eggs
Commission Regulation (EC) No 589/2008 of 23 June 2008 laying down detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 as regards marketing standards for eggs
Article 1 Definitions
In addition, the following definitions shall apply for the purpose of this Regulation:
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‘pack’ means a wrapping containing Class A or B eggs, excluding transport packaging and containers of industrial eggs;
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‘loose sales’ means the offer for retail sale of eggs to the final consumer, other than in packs;
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‘collector’ means any establishment registered in accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 to collect eggs from a producer for delivery to a packing centre, to a market selling exclusively to wholesalers whose undertakings are approved as packing centres, or to the food or non-food industry;
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‘sell-by date’ means the maximum time limit for delivery of the egg to the final consumer according to point 3 of Chapter I of Section X of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004;
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‘food industry’ means any establishment producing egg products intended for human consumption, excluding mass caterers;
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‘non-food industry’ means any business producing products containing eggs not intended for human consumption;
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‘mass caterers’ means the entities referred to in Article 1(2) of Directive 2000/13/EC;
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‘industrial eggs’ means eggs not intended for human consumption;
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‘batch’ means the eggs in packs or loose from one and the same production site or packing centre, situated in one place, with one and the same laying date or date of minimum durability or packing date, the same farming method and, in case of graded eggs, the same quality and weight grading;
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‘repacking’ means the physical transfer of eggs to another pack or the re-marking of a pack containing eggs;
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‘eggs’ means eggs in shell — other than broken, incubated or cooked eggs — that are produced by hens of the species Gallus gallus and are fit for direct human consumption or for the preparation of egg products;
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‘broken eggs’ means eggs showing breaks of both the shell and the membranes, resulting in the exposure of their contents;
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‘incubated eggs’ means eggs from the time of insertion in the incubator onwards;
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‘marketing’ means holding eggs for the purpose of sale, including offering for sale, storage, packing, labelling, delivery, or any other form of transfer, whether free of charge or not;
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‘operator’ means a producer and any other natural or legal person involved in the marketing of eggs;
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‘production site’ means an establishment keeping laying hens, registered in accordance with Commission Directive 2002/4/EC(1);
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‘packing centre’ means a packing centre within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 that is authorised according to Article 5(2) of this Regulation and where eggs are graded by quality and weight;
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‘final consumer’ means the ultimate consumer of a foodstuff who will not use the food as part of any food business operation or activity;
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‘producer code’ means the distinguishing number of the production site according to point 2 of the Annex to Directive 2002/4/EC.
Article 2 Quality characteristics of eggs
1.
Class A eggs shall have the following quality characteristics:
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shell and cuticle: normal shape, clean and undamaged;
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air space: height not exceeding 6 mm, stationary; however, for eggs to be marketed as ‘extra’, it may not exceed 4 mm;
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yolk: visible on candling as a shadow only, without clearly discernible outline, slightly mobile upon turning the egg, and returning to a central position;
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white: clear, translucent;
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germ: imperceptible development;
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foreign matter: not permissible;
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foreign smell: not permissible.
2.
Class A eggs shall not be washed or cleaned, before or after grading, except as provided for in Article 3.
3.
Class A eggs shall not be treated for preservation or chilled in premises or plants where the temperature is artificially maintained at less than 5 °C. However, eggs which have been kept at a temperature below 5 °C during transport for not more than 24 hours or on retail premises or in annexes thereto for not more than 72 hours shall not be considered as chilled.
4.
Class B eggs shall be eggs which do not meet the quality characteristics provided for in paragraph 1. Class A eggs which no longer have those characteristics may be downgraded to Class B.
Article 3 Washed eggs
1.
Member States which, on 1 June 2003, authorised packing centres to wash eggs may continue to authorise packing centres to wash eggs, provided that those centres operate in accordance with the national guides for egg-washing systems. Washed eggs may only be marketed in the Member States in which such authorisations have been issued.
2.
The Member States referred to in paragraph 1 shall encourage the development of national guides to good practice for egg-washing systems by the food business operators, in accordance with Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004.
Article 4 Grading of Class A eggs by weight
1.
Class A eggs shall be graded by weight as follows:
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XL — very large: weight ≥ 73 g;
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L — large: weight ≥ 63 g and < 73 g;
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M — medium: weight ≥ 53 g and < 63 g;
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S — small: weight < 53 g.
2.
The weight-grading shall be indicated by the corresponding letters or terms as defined in paragraph 1 or by a combination of both, which may be supplemented by the corresponding weight ranges. Other additional indications may be used, provided that such indications are not likely to be mistaken for the letters or terms defined in paragraph 1 and comply with Directive 2000/13/EC.
3.
By way of derogation from paragraph 1, where Class A eggs of different sizes are packed together in the same pack, the minimum net weight of the eggs shall be given in grams and the indication ‘Eggs of different sizes’ or equivalent terms shall appear on the outer surface of the pack.
Article 5 Packing centres
1.
Only packing centres shall grade and pack eggs and label their packs.
Only undertakings satisfying the conditions laid down in this Article shall be authorised as packing centres.
2.
The competent authority shall authorise packing centres to grade eggs and shall allot a packing centre code to any operator whose premises and technical equipment are suitable for grading eggs by quality and weight. No suitable technical equipment for grading eggs by weight shall be required for packing centres working exclusively for the food and non-food industry.
The competent authority shall allot the packing centre a packing centre code with an initial code for the Member State concerned as specified in point 2.2 of the Annex to Directive 2002/4/EC.
3.
Packing centres shall have the technical equipment necessary to ensure that eggs are handled properly. This should include as appropriate:
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suitable candling equipment, automatic or continuously staffed throughout, allowing the quality of each egg to be examined separately, or other appropriate equipment;
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devices for measuring the height of the air space;
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equipment for grading eggs by weight;
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one or more approved balances for weighing eggs;
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equipment for marking eggs.
4.
The authorisation referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 may be withdrawn at any time if the conditions provided for in this Article are no longer fulfilled.