Small egg farms

Small egg farms do not need to apply for a NSW Food Authority licence. However, you do need to 'notify' the Food Authority with your business details and food activities, such as selling your eggs. Even if you’re only selling your eggs from your farm gate or at the local markets, you are required to ‘notify’ your flock. There are also labelling and egg stamping requirements.

You can notify us online, free of charge via the food business notification online form.

You need to keep your notification up to date if any of your details change, so it's a good idea to keep your notification reference number.

Notification records are private for each food business, so if you purchase an existing business you need to notify the Food Authority again with your details.

If any of your details change you need to update them by contacting the NSW Food Authority at bfs.admin@dpi.nsw.gov.au  or on 1300 552 406, option 2.

For advice about handling eggs safely if you keep chickens in your backyard, read Backyard chickens (PDF, 5.1 MB). 

Workers must understand food safety hazards, including sources of contamination, and that they are responsible for producing safe food.    

There are no formal qualifications required for small egg farms, and the level of training should be appropriate to the level of risk of the duties performed.    

For example, a person who feeds chickens may have different skills and knowledge to a person who cleans eggs, but they both need to know their responsibilities and do their part to keep produce safe.  

For more guidance, see Skills and knowledge - Food Standards Australia New Zealand.  

The construction and layout of all food premises must be designed to minimise the opportunity for food contamination.

Small egg farms must ensure that the areas where eggs are handled, as well as structures, equipment and transport vehicles, are designed and constructed so they can be easily cleaned and, where necessary, sanitised.

Poorly made and maintained farm buildings, facilities and equipment can increase the chances of product contamination and encourage vermin. They must be suitable for food production, and kept clean, sanitised and in good repair.  

Equipment that comes into contact with eggs must be cleaned often enough to ensure it is free from heavy soiling. 

Workers and visitors can contaminate the egg production areas with harmful microorganisms from their hands, body, clothes or equipment. To reduce this risk, anyone who visits or works onsite must understand and follow good personal health and hygiene practices.

For workers, this includes:

• wearing clean clothing before working with chickens or eggs
• not entering the egg production area or handling eggs if they know, or suspect, they have an illness for example, vomiting or diarrhoea
• covering open wounds with a waterproof bandage
• washing their hands (or using hand sanitiser) before entering an egg production area and whenever it is likely their hands could contaminate the chicken feed, chickens or eggs for example, after visiting the toilet, after meal breaks
• not smoking, spitting, chewing gum, eating, sneezing or coughing near eggs or chickens at any time.

For visitors:

• Make sure your visitors understand health, hygiene and food safety before they enter an egg production area.
• Make sure your visitors are not sick with intestinal or respiratory illness.
• Limit access to anyone that has had contact with other birds, chickens, poultry or pigs within the last 48 hours.
• Limit access to anyone who has returned from overseas travel in the past 7 days.

Food handlers must ensure all food contact surfaces are kept clean and adequately protected from contamination.

For more information see our factsheets:

• Health & hygiene for food handlers (PDF, 157 KB)
• Cleaning & sanitising in food businesses (PDF, 339 KB) 

Food safety controls are actions taken in the business to minimise or eliminate hazards to food safety and apply to all food handling, from receipt to disposal. They also includes food recall requirements.

Input management

Small egg farms must do what they can to ensure inputs do not make eggs unacceptable to eat. This means the chicken feed, water and chemicals do not contaminate eggs with harmful microorganisms or chemicals.

Feed and water

Birds being kept to produce eggs intended for sale for human consumption must not be fed any stock food or water that is likely to cause the eggs to be unsafe or unsuitable.

Water used for bird drinking should not contain levels of microorganisms that would make the eggs unsafe. Producers need to regularly assess the risks of water sources.

Small egg farms should:

1. store stock food in a manner that prevents contamination from pests and other foreign materials 
   - use sealed feed silos 
   - store feed bags off the ground 
   - keep feed bags sealed when not in use, and
2. not let feed or water become contaminated by faeces or other waste products.  
3. Clean feeders, drinkers and storage tanks and bins regularly.  
4. Ensure the feed and water supply is from a source that is free of contact with wild birds and rodents.

Waste disposal

Store dead birds or dispose of dead birds so that no other animals can reach them. The disposal site should be outside the production area, away from sheds and boundary fences, and designed to prevent scavenging.  

Clean and disinfect or dispose of any equipment and protective clothing used to collect and dispose of dead birds, including gloves, overalls, boots, shovels and bins.  

For disposal of cracked or dirty eggs, see 'Condition of eggs' below.

Bird health

Do not collect eggs for human consumption from birds that are affected by disease or a condition that makes the eggs unsafe or unsuitable.

Do not sell eggs for human consumption that have been obtained from a bird that has been administered a veterinary chemical product, in contravention of the Stock Medicines Act 1989 or the Pesticides Act 1999.

Record keeping

Written records allow a business to demonstrate to the relevant authority that the requirements are being complied with.

Records of product batches and supply can help if a recall is required (see below). An up-to-date list of any businesses to which products are supplied, including specifically where each product batch has gone will assist in the event of a recall.

Recalls

If you sell your eggs to another business, you must have procedures in place to recall and withdraw unsafe or unsuitable eggs. Reasons for the recall could include contamination by bacteria or the presence of chemicals or foreign matter that could cause physical harm to a person consuming the food.

For assistance with developing a food recall system, see Food Industry Recall Protocol. 

No documented food safety program is required for small egg farms. 

Egg cartons for retail sale (sold directly to consumers) must be labelled with:

• the name of the food
• the business name and address
• lot identification (date marking may be used instead of the lot identification)
• date marking information.  

These requirements are outlined in Part 1.2 Labelling and other Information Requirements of the Food Standards Code.  

For more information on labelling, see Labelling laws. 

Eggs should be collected often, at least once per day, to help decrease the number of dirty and cracked eggs. Collection of eggs should be more frequent during very hot and cold weather. Important points to remember when collecting eggs:  

• Clean eggs should be separated from dirty eggs.
• Eggs should be collected in an easy to clean container like coated wire baskets or plastic flats. This will prevent stains from rusted metal and contamination from other materials which are difficult to clean and sanitise.  
• Do not stack eggs too high. If collecting in baskets do not stack eggs more than 5 layers deep. If using plastic flats do not stack more than 6 flats.  
• Eggs should be held below 15°C with 70% humidity prior to cleaning. Embryos can start to develop in fertile eggs held at a temperature of 29°C for more than a few hours.
• Never cool eggs rapidly before cleaning. The egg shell will contract and may pull any dirt or bacteria on the egg surface into the pores when cooled.
• Keep egg temperature fairly constant until the eggs are washed to avoid sweating. Sweating occurs when eggs are moved from cold storage to a warm environment, and condensation on the surface of the egg facilitates movement of microbes inside the shell. 

Dirty eggs must not be sold at retail for human consumption.

To clean eggs, use material that is dry, clean and not reused - disposable paper towels are recommended.  

If a dry cloth is used, an adequate supply should be available so that only clean cloth is passed over the egg each time.  

Dirty cloths should be cleaned and sanitised after each use.  

If an alternative material is used for this process, it should be suitable for contact with food.  

For more information, see Egg cleaning procedures (PDF, 418 KB). 

All eggs sold in NSW (unless exempt, see below) must be individually stamped with the producer's unique identifier, usually a number or code.

This helps trace eggs back to the farm from their point of sale in the event of a food poisoning incident or outbreak. 

Eggs can be stamped at the farm where they are produced or at a grading facility.

Exemption

An exemption from stamping applies to small egg farmers that produce less than 20 dozen (240) eggs a week and either:

• sell those eggs direct from the farm gate, or
• use those eggs for a fundraising activity where the eggs will be cooked.

Stamps

The Food Authority will supply egg farmers with a one-off free hand stamp with a pre-assigned unique code and a pack of ink refills.

Small egg farms will receive their free egg stamp once their notification to the Food Authority has been processed. 

For more information on egg stamping requirements, including what information needs to be provided to the Food Authority and what to do if stamping equipment fails, visit our egg stamping page. 

See also: 

• Egg stamping for egg producers (PDF, 249 KB)
• Egg stamping for butchers and grocers that sell eggs (PDF, 198 KB)
• Egg stamping for cafés, restaurants and takeaways (PDF, 199 KB)

No routine microbiological or chemical testing of product is required of small egg farms.

Residues & contaminants

Eggs in NSW must not be sold for human consumption if they have come from a bird that has been administered a veterinary chemical product in breach of the Stock Medicines Act 1989 or the Pesticides Act 1999.

Small egg farms must:

1. only use pesticides and veterinary medicines that are registered for use with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA), and
2. use and store pesticides and veterinary medicines according to the manufacturer’s specifications.

See also, suitability of chemicals for use in food businesses (PDF, 215 KB) 

Unpasteurised egg products

An ‘egg product’ means the whole or a part of the content of an egg with the shell removed and in any form.  

Small egg farms that sell unpasteurised egg products in NSW must demonstrate that they are only sold to a business licensed with the Food Authority to manufacture, pasteurise or process egg products or mixtures. It is recommended small egg farms selling to egg processors maintain a copy of the purchaser’s current Food Authority licence. 

Sale & use of cracked eggs

Cracked eggs are eggs with a cracked shell, where a crack is visible to the naked eye or by candling, and includes a broken egg.  

Cracked eggs must not be made available for retail sale or catering purposes.

Cracked eggs may only be sold to a business licensed with the Food Authority to manufacture, pasteurise or process egg products or mixtures.  Otherwise, they need to be disposed of hygienically and away from clean intact eggs. 

Sale & processing of dirty eggs

Dirty eggs must not be sold at retail for human consumption.

Dirty eggs must be either:

• dry cleaned so that visible faeces, soil and other matter is removed from the shell
• sold only to a business licensed with the Food Authority to manufacture, pasteurise or process egg products or mixtures
• discarded. 

Routine audits or inspections are not required for small egg farms.

Small egg farms may be inspected in response to an incident or complaint. 

For more see Powers of Authorised Officers.

Small egg farms need to meet the requirements in the:

1. Food Standards Code:
   • relevant sections of Chapter 1 - General Food Standards
     covers labelling substances allowed in food; microbiological limits; etc
   • Standard 2.2.2 - Egg and Egg Products 
     covers sale of cracked or dirty eggs, unprocessed pulp and traceability
   • Standard 4.1.1 – Primary production and processing standards – preliminary provisions covers when an animal or food is unacceptable
   • Food Regulation 2025 including relevant sections of Part 10 Egg Food Safety Scheme and notification of business details
2. Food Act 2003:
   • general requirements throughout the Act
   • notification of business activities in ss 100-101, and
   • may need to be inspected in response to an incident.

See our factsheet requirements for notified small egg farms.