Egg marketing inspection

Who gets inspected

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) egg marketing inspectors (EMIs) inspect: 

• registered egg production sites 
• packing centres 
• wholesalers 
• hatcheries 
• boiling plants 
• auction markets 
• egg collectors 

EMIs can also inspect retailers and caterers (at discretion).

You can read APHA’s framework for training and inspecting EMIs.

What gets inspected

APHA will check that you’re meeting the legal requirements for production, marking, transport, grading packing and marketing eggs.  

They will inspect: 

• eggs you have quality graded as Class A 
• eggs you have weight graded 
• marking of eggs 
• labelling of eggs 
• egg production sites 
• records 

APHA checks your records for: 

• Salmonella National Control Programme 
• stocking density of egg production 
• flock mortality 
• welfare-related information 
• farm hygiene 
• egg production (at egg production sites) 
• grading and packing (at egg packing centres) 
• sales records

Time and length

How often APHA inspects your site depends on a number of factors, including: 

• results of previous checks 
• complexity of your marketing channels 
• degree of segmentation in your production or packing site 
• quantity of eggs you produce or pack 
• any substantial changes you have made since previous inspections 

APHA also completes random checks.  

Routine inspections can take place between once every 21 days to once every 5 years. 

Inspections usually take between 1.5 hours to 1 day (occasionally longer). 

All inspections are unannounced.

What happens if you have a non-compliance 

At egg packing centres 

If APHA finds any non-compliances, they will issue contravention notices, compliance notices, or advice and guidance. You will need to correct the issues identified. 

APHA will carry out follow-up inspections to check you are now complying. These will be in addition to routine inspections.  

If you continue to fail inspections, they will: 

• issue warning letters 
• bring in a government technical advisor (GTA) 
• escalate to senior management 
• consider enforcement 

APHA may also refer you to Defra’s Counter Fraud and Investigation (CFI) service for further action if you: 

• do not address issues 
• breach a compliance notice APHA has issued 

EMIs may share factual results with egg holders. 

APHA may issue stop notices (EMI49) and direction notices when batches fail but cannot be immediately downgraded. Alternatively, they may be used to preserve evidence for further inspection. 

At egg producer inspections 

If APHA finds any non-compliances, they may: 

• issue compliance notices, contravention notices and welfare improvement notices  
• notify your egg packing centre of any breaches in the regulations