Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2465 of 17 August 2023 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards marketing standards for eggs, and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 589/2008

This Regulation supplements Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 with rules on the marketing standards for eggs of hens of the Gallus gallus species, except eggs for hatching, in particular as regards:

1. the classification criteria;

2. the preservation and handling;

3. the marking and packing requirements;

4. the use of optional reserved terms;

5. the tolerance levels;

6. the conditions for imports and exports.

For the purposes of this Regulation and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2466, the definitions in Article 2(1) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 and points 5.2, 5.3, 5.4 and 7.3 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 shall apply.

In addition, the following definitions shall apply:

1. ‘pack’ means a wrapping containing Class A or Class B eggs, excluding transport packaging and containers of industrial eggs;

2. ‘loose egg sales’ means the offer for retail sale of eggs to the final consumer, other than in packs;

3. ‘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;

4. ‘food industry’ means any establishment producing egg products intended for human consumption, excluding mass caterers;

5. ‘non-food industry’ means any business producing products containing eggs not intended for human consumption;

6. ‘mass caterers’ means the establishments referred to in Article 2(2), point (d), of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011;

7. ‘eggs’ means eggs in shell – other than broken, incubated or cooked eggs – that are produced by hens of the Gallus gallus species and are fit for direct human consumption or for the preparation of egg products;

8. ‘broken eggs’ means eggs showing breaks of both the shell and the membranes, resulting in the exposure of their contents;

9. ‘incubated eggs’ means eggs from the time of insertion in the incubator onwards;

10. ‘industrial eggs’ means eggs not intended for human consumption;

11. ‘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;

12. ‘repacking’ means the physical transfer of eggs to another pack or the re-marking of a pack containing eggs;

13. ‘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;

14. ‘operator’ means a producer and any other natural or legal person involved in the marketing of eggs;

15. ‘production site’ means an establishment keeping laying hens, registered in accordance with Commission Directive 2002/4/EC⁽¹⁾;

16. ‘packing centre’ means a packing centre within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 that is authorised in accordance with Article 3(2) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2466 and where eggs are graded by quality and weight;

17. ‘final consumer’ means the ultimate consumer of a foodstuff who will not use the food as part of any food business operation or activity;

18. ‘producer code’ means the distinguishing number of the production site according to point 2 of the Annex to Directive 2002/4/EC.