The Ottawa-based Egg Farmers of Canada is an agriculture organization that manages the national egg supply, promotes eggs to consumers, and develops policies and standards.
Founded in 1972, its membership comprises of egg farmers from all 10 of the provinces and the Northwest Territories, along with a Consumers’ Association of Canada representative and three Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council representatives.
Its 16-member board meets five times a year to review financial statements, establish strategy and receive updates. Various committees review and offer advice, including a research committee that focuses on health and nutrition, production management and poultry welfare. The Egg Farmers of Canada funds a variety of independent research projects at institutions across the country.
Eggs are a supply-managed commodity in Canada. At least once a year, the organization forecasts demand and established a national allocation for producers, which is then approved by Farm Products Council of Canada. Every four to five years, the Egg Farmers of Canada conducts a national production cost survey of egg farmer input costs and updates some of this information regularly. In 2011, a total of 1,010 regulated egg operations in all 10 provinces and in the Northwest Territories were allocated quota to produce some 591 million eggs. The Egg Farmers of Canada also operates an Industrial Product Program that sells eggs to Canadian processors and ensures that egg producers recoup their production cost.
The group represents farmers before the federal government on a wide range of issues, including international trade, animal welfare, food safety, product labeling, animal disease prevention, traceability and emergency management. It also delivers Start Clean Stay Clean, an on-farm food safety program based on HACCP principles. As part of the program, all regulated farms are inspected by trained inspectors, and follow-up visits are made if corrective action is required. All egg farms are tested for Salmonella enteriditis at least twice a year. The agency also has an on-farm safety program for the pullet sector.
The Egg Farmers of Canada produces television commercials and its website offers recipes and advice on cooking with eggs. It also conducts outreach with family physicians across Canada to convey information about the benefits of eating eggs.
For more information, go to: eggs.ca
