The Egg Products Regulations 1993

• Citation: S.I. 1993/1520
• Sections: 88

Section 1 Title and commencement

These Regulations may be cited as the Egg Products Regulations 1993 and shall come into force on 14th July 1993.

Section 2 Interpretation and application

(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

“ the Act ” means the Food Safety Act 1990;

“appropriate Minister” means as respects England, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and as respects Scotland or Wales, the Secretary of State;

“approval” means, in relation to an establishment, an approval granted by a food authority under regulation 5(2);

“approved”, in relation to an establishment, means an establishment approved by the food authority for the area in which it is situated;

“batch” means a quantity of egg products which have been prepared under the same conditions and in particular treated in a single continuous operation;

“cracked eggs” means eggs with a damaged but unbroken shell, with intact membranes;

“egg” means an egg laid by a hen, duck, goose, turkey, guinea fowl or quail;

“egg products” means products obtained from eggs, their various components or mixtures thereof, after removal of the shell and outer membranes, intended for human consumption, and includes such products when partially supplemented by other foodstuffs and additives and such products when liquid, concentrated, crystallised, frozen, quick-frozen, coagulated or dried, but does not include finished foodstuffs;

“egg products establishment” means any establishment at which egg products are treated, handled or obtained for the purpose of sale for human consumption;

“food authority” means—

in relation to England and Wales—

as respects each district or London borough, the council of that district or borough;

as respects the City of London (including the Temples), the Common Council;

as respects the Inner Temple or the Middle Temple, the appropriate Treasurer; and

in relation to Scotland, the islands or district council,

and in relation to England and Wales includes a port health authority;

“handling” includes manufacturing, preparing, processing, packaging, wrapping or re-wrappping;

“incubated eggs” means eggs from the time of insertion in the incubator as defined in Council Regulation 1907/90/ EEC as amended on certain marketing standards for eggs;

“occupier” means in relation to any person carrying on a business as a manufacturer of egg products, that person or his duly authorised representative;

“sell” includes offer, handle, or expose, or have in possession for sale or supply in the course of a business;

“supply” means supply otherwise than by sale;

“whole egg” means a mixture of yolk and albumen.

(2) The following provisions of the Act shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as they apply for the purposes of section 8, 14 or 15 of the Act and unless the context otherwise requires any reference in them to the Act shall be construed as a reference to these Regulations—

(a) section 2 (extended meaning of “sale” etc. );

(b) section 3 (presumption that food intended for human consumption);

(c) section 20 (offences due to fault of another person);

(d) section 21 (defence of due diligence);

(e) section 22 (defence of publication in the course of business);

(f) section 30(8) (which relates to documentary evidence);

(g) section 33 (obstruction etc. of officers);

(h) section 36 (offences by bodies corporate);

(i) section 44 (protection of officers acting in good faith).

(3) Section 8(3) (which makes presumptions in the case of batches of food) of the Act shall apply to food which it is an offence to sell under these Regulations as it applies to food which fails to comply with food safety requirements.

(4) Section 9 (inspection and seizure of suspected food) of the Act shall apply to food which it is an offence to sell under these Regulations as it applies to food which fails to comply with food safety requirements.

(5) Section 34 (which relates to time limits for the commencement of prosecutions) of the Act shall apply in relation to offences under these Regulations as it applies to offences punishable under section 35(2) of the Act.

(6) Any reference in these Regulations to a numbered regulation or Schedule shall be construed as a reference to the regulation or Schedule bearing that number in these Regulations.

Section 3 Preparation requirements for egg products

(1) Subject to paragraph (4) below, no person shall sell for human consumption, or use in the preparation of food intended for sale for human consumption, any egg products which are a mixture of egg products obtained from more than one species.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3) and (4) below, no person shall sell for human consumption, or use in the preparation of food intended for sale for human consumption, any egg products unless those egg products comply with the requirements specified in Schedule 1 as read with Schedules 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2) above, any egg products which have been prepared in another Member State shall not have to comply with the requirements in Part II of Schedule 2.

(4) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2) above, egg products—

(a) obtained from eggs of ducks, geese, turkeys, guinea fowl, quail or graded A under Council Regulation 1907/90/EEC as amended , or

(b) obtained from eggs containing no crack visible to the naked eye without candling and made into egg products at the farm where those eggs were produced,

may be used in the preparation of food intended for sale for human consumption if—

(i) they are so used at the establishment where they were obtained, whether or not the food is consumed at that establishment, and

(ii) they comply with the requirements of paragraphs 1, 2(a), 3 and 4 of Schedule 1.

(5) No person shall on or after 14th October 1993 sell for human consumption, or use in the preparation of food intended for sale for human consumption, any egg products unless—

(a) in the case of egg products prepared in Great Britain, they were prepared in an approved establishment in accordance with regulation 5; or

(b) in the case of egg products from another part of the Economic Community, they were prepared in an establishment which has been approved in accordance with Article 6 of Council Directive 89/437/EEC as amended on hygiene and health problems affecting the production and placing on the market of egg products.

Section 4 Records

Any person applying heat treatment to egg products shall–

(a) keep accurate records of the results of each test or process carried out by him as specified in Schedule 2 or 3, or in Parts II, III , IV , V or VI of Schedule 4;

(b) retain such records for a period of not less than two years from the date of the test or process to which the record relates;

(c) produce such records on request to the appropriate food authority.

Section 5 Approved establishments

(1) No person shall on or after 14th October 1993 manufacture any egg products or (except in the circumstances referred to in regulation 3(4)) apply heat treatment to any egg products for the purpose of sale for human consumption otherwise than in an establishment approved for the purposes of these Regulations by the food authority and which complies with the appropriate requirements of Schedules 1 and 8.

(2) The food authority on application made to it under this regulation shall issue an approval if it is satisfied that the egg products establishment complies with the requirements of these Regulations.

(3) Each application for an approval of an egg products establishment shall be made in writing under this regulation to the food authority by the owner or occupier of, or a person proposing to occupy the establishment to which the application relates.

(4) The application for the purposes of paragraph (3) above shall contain such information as the food authority may require.

(5) Each food authority shall after an inspection of the egg products establishment consider each application for the approval of any establishment for the purposes of these Regulations and shall approve it only if satisfied that its arrangements at the establishment are such that—

(a) the storage at and transport from such establishment of egg products will comply with Schedules 5 and 6;

(b) the requirements of Schedule 8 will not be contravened;

(c) the packaging of egg products will comply with Schedule 9;

(d) the marking of egg products from such establishment will comply with Schedule 10.

(6) The food authority shall, not later than 28 days after receipt of the application referred to in paragraph (3) above, notify the applicant in writing of its decision on each application for an approval under this regulation and of the reasons for any refusal to approve such egg products establishment.

(7) Any approval granted in respect of any egg products establishment under this regulation shall be subject to the condition that any alteration to the establishment shall comply, if appropriate, with the requirements of Schedules 1, 5 and 8.

(8) Any person who is aggrieved by the decision of a food authority not to grant an approval or by the imposition of specified conditions, may appeal against that decision in accordance with the provisions of section 37(3) to (6) inclusive of the Act.

(9) The food authority shall allot an approval number to each egg products establishment it approves for the purposes of these Regulations.

(10) Without prejudice to sections 9 to 12 of the Act, where the food authority has refused an approval under this regulation, a person who prior to the commencement of these Regulations, immediately before such refusal had been using an establishment for the handling of egg products, may continue to use it for that purpose, subject to any reasonable conditions imposed by the food authority for the protection of public health, until the time for appeal has expired and, if an appeal is lodged, until the appeal is finally disposed of or abandoned.

Section 6 Revocation of approvals

(1) The appropriate Minister may revoke an approval granted under regulation 5 in respect of any egg products establishment if, after an inspection of, or an inquiry into, the method of operation of the establishment he is satisfied in respect of the establishment–

(a) that any of the requirements of these Regulations is no longer being complied with;

(b) that any of the requirements of these Regulations has not been complied with and no action has been taken to ensure that a similar breach does not occur in future; or

(c) that any condition of the approval in accordance with regulation 5(7) has not been complied with.

(2) The appropriate Minister shall forthwith notify the owner or occupier in writing of his decision under paragraph (1) above to revoke any approval granted under these Regulations, in respect of any egg products establishment, of the date on which the revocation is to take effect and of the reasons for such revocation and the procedure in respect of any appeal against such revocation shall be that set out in regulation 5(8).

Section 7 Movement between approved establishments

(1) No person shall despatch a container of non-pasteurised egg products from an approved establishment for treatment at another approved establishment unless he ensures that—

(a) as soon as the egg products have been obtained after breaking the eggs they shall be stored deep frozen or chilled in accordance with Schedule 5, and

(b) the egg products comply with the requirements specified in Schedule 1, other than paragraphs 6, 7, 8 and 15, and with the transport requirements specified in Schedule 6.

(2) For the purposes of these Regulations non-pasteurised egg products which satisfy the conditions specified in sub-paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) above shall be deemed to comply with the requirements in paragraphs 6, 7, 8 and 15 of Schedule 1.

(3) Notwithstanding the marking provisions specified in Schedule 10, no person shall despatch a container of non-pasteurised egg products from an approved establishment for treatment at another approved establishment unless he ensures that the container is labelled with the following information—

(a) the words “non-pasteurised egg products”;

(b) the words “to be treated at X” where X is the place of destination;

(c) the date and time of breaking of eggs from which the egg products were made.

(4) Any person who receives from an approved establishment a container of non-pasteurised egg products which has been chilled in accordance with Schedule 5 shall treat such chilled egg products at the approved establishment of destination within 48 hours following the day of the breaking of the eggs from which the egg products were obtained.

Section 8 Supervision by the food authority

(1) The food authority shall be responsible for the supervision of those establishments approved by it in accordance with regulation 5.

(2) The food authority shall in relation to an approved establishment take any supervision measures considered necessary to ensure that manufacturers of egg products comply with these Regulations and the provisions specified in Schedule 7.

Section 9 Penalties and enforcement

(1) If any person contravenes or fails to comply with any of the provisions of regulations 3(1), (2), (3) and (5), 4, 5(1) or 7(1), (3) and (4), he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale in the case of regulations 3, 4(a), (b) and (c), 5 and 7;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both in the case of regulations 3, 5 and 7 and to a fine in the case of regulation 4(a).

(2) Each food authority shall enforce and execute the provisions of these Regulations in its area.

Section 10 Revocations and transitional provisions

(1) The Regulations specified in columns 1 and 2 of Schedule 11 to these Regulations are revoked to the extent specified in relation thereto in column 3 of that Schedule as from 14th October 1993.

(2) No proceedings shall be instituted in the period between the date these Regulations come into force and 14th October 1993 in respect of any act which is alleged to constitute a contravention of the regulations specified in Schedule 11 where any such act is in compliance with the relevant provisions of these Regulations were they in force.

Section 1

All operations shall be carried out in such a way as to avoid all contamination during the production, handling and storage of egg products.

Section 2

In manufacturing egg products—

(a) only non-incubated eggs which are fit for human consumption may be used, and their shells must be fully developed and contain no breaks, and

(b) cracked eggs may be used provided that they are delivered directly from packing centres or the farm of production to the approved establishment at which they are to be heat treated, and broken there as quickly as possible.

Section 3

The egg products shall be removed from the shell by a technique in which the eggs are broken in such a way as to avoid as far as possible contamination of the egg contents and which enables the contents of individual eggs to be inspected and if necessary rejected.

Section 4

The egg products shall not be obtained by centrifuging or crushing.

Section 5

Eggs and egg products which are unfit for human consumption shall be removed and denatured in such a way that they cannot be re-used for human consumption. They shall immediately be placed in the room provided for in paragraph 14 of Part I of Schedule 8.

Section 6

(1) Whole egg or yolk shall be pasteurised as specified in Part I of Schedule 2.

(2) Whole egg or yolk which is pasteurised by the process specified in sub-paragraph (a) ofPart I of Schedule 2 shall satisfy the requirements of Part II of that Schedule.

(3) Albumen shall be heat treated as specified in Schedule 3.

Section 7

A sample of the egg products from each batch shall be taken at the establishment at which they have been heat treated. When the sample is tested it shall satisfy the microbiological criteria and tests specified in Parts I to V inclusive of Schedule 4.

Section 8

Batches of egg products shall be sampled at the establishment. When the sample is tested it shall satisfy the criteria specified in Part VI of Schedule 4.

Section 9

(1) Eggs and egg products presented for subsequent treatment at the establishment shall be stored immediately on arrival in the rooms provided for in paragraph 7 of Part I of Schedule 8 until they are processed.

(2) The temperature of those rooms shall be appropriate for the storage of eggs and egg products.

(3) Trays of shell eggs shall not be placed directly on the floor.

Section 10

Eggs shall be unpacked, and, if necessary, washed and disinfected, in a room which is separate from the breaking room, and packaging material shall not be taken into the breaking room.

Section 11

Eggs shall be broken in the room provided for in paragraph 9 of Part I of Schedule 8.

Section 12

(1) Dirty eggs shall be cleaned before being broken, and this shall be carried out in a room which is separate from the breaking room or from any room where exposed egg contents are handled.

(2) Cleaning procedures shall be such as to prevent contamination or adulteration of the egg contents.

(3) Shells shall be sufficiently dry at the time of breaking to prevent adulteration of the egg contents by the remains of the cleaning water.

Section 13

(1) Eggs other than hen eggs or those of turkeys or guinea fowl shall be handled and processed separately.

(2) All equipment shall be cleaned and disinfected when processing of hen eggs and those of turkeys and guinea fowl is resumed.

Section 14

The remains of shells or membranes shall be kept out of the egg product as far as possible and shall not exceed the quantity specified in paragraph 20 below.

Section 15

(1) After breaking, all the egg products shall undergo treatment as quickly as possible.

(2) A batch which has been insufficiently treated may immediately undergo treatment again in the same establishment provided either that the new treatment renders it fit for human consumption or that, should it be found to be unfit for human consumption, it is denatured in such a way that it cannot be re-used for human consumption.

Section 16

If treatment is not carried out immediately after breaking, the egg contents shall be stored under satisfactory hygiene conditions, either frozen or at a temperature of not more than 4°C. The storage period at 4°C or less shall not exceed 48 hours, except in the case of ingredients to be desugared.

Section 17

(1) Any further processing operations after treatment shall ensure that there is no recontamination of the egg product; liquid egg products or concentrated egg products which have not been stabilised so as to keep at room temperature shall be either dried or cooled to a temperature not exceeding 4°C as quickly as possible, or after undergoing a fermentation process.

(2) Products for freezing shall be frozen immediately after treatment and cooling.

Section 18

Egg products shall be kept at the temperatures required by Schedule 5 until they are used for the manufacture of other foodstuffs.

Section 19

In establishments approved under regulation 5, the preparation of egg products from raw materials which are not suitable for the manufacture of foodstuffs shall not be carried out, even for non-food purposes.

Section 20

The quantity of egg shell remains, egg membrane, and any other particles in the egg product shall not exceed 100 mg/ kg of egg product.

Section 21

The storage and transport of egg products from the establishment shall comply with Schedules 5 and 6.

Section 1 Introduction

(1) A sample of whole egg or yolk which has been pasteurised by the process specified in sub-paragraph (a) of Part I of this Schedule shall be subjected to the alpha-amylase test to determine the efficacy of the pasteurisation process.

(2) The sample shall be subjected to the test as soon as possible after pasteurisation.

(3) At least one sample from each batch of egg product shall be taken.

Section 2 Sample preparation

The sample shall consist of not less than 50 g of the whole egg or yolk. The sample to be examined shall be prepared for the test as follows:

(a) for whole egg, the original sample shall be used, save that any dried whole egg shall be reconstituted;

(b) for yolk—

(i) 5 ml yolk shall be diluted with 10 ml water,

(ii) any dried yolk shall be reconstituted before dilution.

Section 3 Reagents

All reagents shall be of analytical reagent ( AR ) grade, water for the preparation of reagents shall be distilled or de-ionised, and the reagents shall comprise the following solutions—

(a) starch solution made up as follows—

(i) an amount of soluble starch of known moisture content and of the appropriate grade for the determination of alpha-amylase, equivalent to 0.70 g of dry starch mixed to a thin cream with cold water; transferred to about 50 ml of boiling water, boiled for one minute and then cooled by immersion in cold water; three drops of toluene shall be added and the whole diluted with water to 100 ml in a volumetric flask; the solution shall not be retained for longer than 14 days;

(b) solution of iodine made according to one of the following–

(i) an accurately weighed amount of 0.1269 g of iodine and 3.6 g of potassium iodide dissolved in water such that the final volume of the solution is 1 litre; the volumetric flask containing the solution shall be protected from light and a fresh solution shall be prepared daily;

(ii) the solution described in sub-paragraph (i) diluted from a stronger solution with appropriate adjustment of potassium iodide concentration; or

(c) solution of trichloroacetic acid made up as follows—

(i) 15% (w/v) of trichloroacetic acid dissolved in water.

Section 4 Apparatus

(1) Glassware shall be clean and dry before use and no mouth pipetting shall be carried out, and glassware that has come into contact with whole egg or yolk shall be sterilised after use.

(2) The components of the apparatus shall be the following:

(a) analytical balance

(b) beakers: 250 ml glass

(c) volumetric flasks: 100 ml, 1 litre

(d) flasks: 100 ml glass

(e) water bath: capable of maintaining a temperature of 44°C ± 0.5°C

(f) pipettes: 2 ml, 5 ml, 10 ml, 15 ml glass Grade A

(g) test tubes: glass

(h) filter paper: Whatman No 1 or equivalent

(i) Lovibond Comparator: plus disc 4/26 and 25 mm cell, or any other apparatus which offers the equivalent level of accuracy and performance as described in paragraph 6 of this Part.

Section 5 Procedure

The test shall be carried out according to the following procedure:

(a) the sample shall be at room temperature immediately before the test;

(b) 15.0 g of the sample shall be put into a small flask, 2.0 ml of the starch solution described in paragraph 3(a) above shall be added and mixed thoroughly;

(c) the mixture shall be placed for 30 minutes in a water bath maintained at 44°C ± 0.5°C and anchored securely; then removed and cooled to room temperature;

(d) 5 ml of the mixture shall be added to 5 ml of trichloroacetic acid solution in a test tube fitted with a ground glass joint and suitable stopper (or an equivalent item of equipment) and shaken thoroughly;

(e) 15 ml of water shall be added and the mixture shaken again; then it shall be filtered and if the solution is cloudy or turbid, the first runnings shall be rejected;

(f) 10 ml of the clear filtrate shall be added to 2 ml of iodine solution contained in a test tube.

Section 6 Interpretation

(1) The sample passes the alpha-amylase test if the filtrate in the solution of iodine immediately turns a blue-violet colour.

(2) For this purpose colours more blue-violet than 3 of a standard Lovibond Comparator Disc 4/26, or of a comparable spectrophotometric standard, are taken as satisfactory.

Section 7 Quality Control Procedures

(1) The colour shall be compared in an all-purpose Lovibond Comparator using a 25 mm cell.

(2) The reagents and procedure shall be checked by preparing two control tubes at the same time, and in the first of these the egg product shall be replaced with an equivalent amount of water and in the second the starch shall be replaced with an equivalent amount of water.

(3) In order to be satisfactory the first tube should be a deeper blue, and the second tube a lighter blue, than any shade on the disc.

Section 1

For each batch the sample of egg products which is tested shall comply with the following microbiological criteria:—

(a) salmonellae: absence in 25 g or 25 ml of egg products;

(b) mesophilic aerobic bacteria: M = 10 5 in 1 g or 1 ml;

(c) enterobacteriaceae: M = 10 2 in 1 g or 1 ml;

(d) Staphylococcus aureus: absence in 1g of egg products.

M = maximum value for the number of bacteria; the result is considered unsatisfactory if the number of bacteria in one or more sample units is M or more.

Section 1 Method of carrying out the test

Subject to paragraphs 2 and 3 below, the sample shall be tested by the method prescribed in “British Standard 5763: Part 10, 1986 (ISO 7402). Methods for microbiological examination of food and feeding stuffs. Enumeration of enterobacteriaceae”.

Section 1

For each batch the sample of egg products which is tested shall comply with the following criteria:—

(a) the concentration of 3 OH-butyric acid must not exceed 10 mg/kg in the dry matter of the unmodified egg product;

(b) in order to ensure the hygienic handling of eggs and egg products the following standards shall apply–

(i) the lactic acid content shall not exceed 1000 mg/kg of egg product dry matter (applicable only to the untreated egg product),

(ii) the succinic acid content shall not exceed 25 mg/kg of egg product dry matter.

In the case of fermented products, these values are those recorded before the fermentation process.

Section 2 Method of carrying out the test

The “colony count technique” specified in paragraph 9.3 of the British Standard referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be used.

Section 3 Method of carrying out the test

For the purposes of inoculation of Petri dishes 1 ml of egg products appropriately diluted shall be transferred into each one of two 90 mm Petri dishes.

Section 1

Egg products shall be stored in the storage rooms referred to in paragraph 7 of Part I of Schedule 8.

Section 2

(1) Egg products for which certain storage temperatures are required shall be maintained at those temperatures.

(2) Those storage temperatures shall be recorded continuously, the cooling rate shall be such that the product reaches the required temperatures as quickly as possible and the containers shall be stored in such a way that air can freely circulate round them.

Section 3

The temperature in storage shall not exceed the following values—

(a) for deep frozen products: −18°C.

(b) for other frozen products: −12°C.

(c) for chilled products: +4°C.

Section 1

Vehicles and containers for the transport of egg products shall be designed and equipped in such a way that the temperatures required by these Regulations can be maintained continuously throughout the period of transport.

Section 2

Egg products shall be despatched in such a way that they are adequately protected during transportation from anything which may be detrimental to them.

Section 3

The temperatures specified in paragraph 3 of Schedule 5 shall be maintained during transport.

Section 1

Egg products establishments shall be subject to any supervision measures considered necessary by an authorised officer of the food authority, who shall ensure that the requirements of these Regulations are met and in particular–

(a) check on the origin of eggs, the destination of egg products and on the records referred to in regulation 4;

(b) inspect eggs intended for the manufacture of egg products;

(c) inspect egg products on despatch from the establishment;

(d) verify the cleanliness of the premises, facilities and instruments and staff hygiene;

(e) take any samples required for laboratory tests to ensure that eggs and egg products comply with the appropriate requirements of Schedule 1 and enter such results in a register and notify them to the person operating the establishment;

(f) if he considers it appropriate, require the operator of the establishment by a notice in writing to increase the level of sampling referred to in Schedule 4 for a specified period;

(g) make any other checks he considers necessary to ensure compliance with these Regulations.