U.S. trade association National Chicken Council (NCC) submitted a request to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) encouraging it to change a policy that requires broiler surplus hatching eggs to be disposed of.
The NCC argues that sending these eggs to a breaker for use in liquid egg products would help to alleviate the historically high egg prices the U.S. is currently facing brought on by the country’s highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak. However, the FDA’s Shell Egg Rule, implemented over a decade ago, prevents the use of surplus eggs in liquid egg products.
The rule states that all shell eggs must be refrigerated at or below 45°F within 36 hours of being laid. However, research shows that broiler eggs for hatching must be stored at 65°F for up to five days before determining which eggs are needed or appropriate for hatching.
The NCC argues that because shell eggs sent to breakers are pasteurized during processing, surplus broiler eggs should be available for use in liquid egg products to alleviate the restricted supply and inflated egg prices.
A risk assessment performed in 2020 by the FDA and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirms pasteurized eggs present a low public food safety risk. The FDA’s shell egg rule is focused on table eggs, which are considered raw products and present a much higher risk.
The association estimates that since the rule was implemented, it has cost the broiler industry over US$27 million annually and caused the waste of hundreds of millions of eggs that could have been sold safely into the breaking market.
“Already faced with record egg prices, consumers might be hit even harder in their wallets as we head into the Easter season unless FDA provides us with a pathway to put these eggs to good use,” stated Ashley Peterson, Ph.D., NCC Senior Vice President of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs.
The NCC added that eggs that fail to meet the FDA rule’s standards are required to be sent to breakers for pasteurization, which is very similar to the request the NCC is making now.