Selling eggs for consumption in Florida?

[drjulian]

How paranoid and uneducated lawmakers are they'd probably say your eggs need clear labeling of: Unwashed- May contain poop and foreign matter

That way, in their uneducated way they can educate the consumer of the risks of your product




I started to come up with a bunch of absurd labels and thought better of posting them...

It has nothing to do with paranoia, it is all about money. Here in FL the license to sell eggs is $1000 per year to sell the eggs plus another license to transport them off of your property AND you have to pay for a yearly Board of Health inspection, They couldn't care less if the eggs are safe...as long as they get their $$$$.

 

[KatOttesen]

It has nothing to do with paranoia, it is all about money. Here in FL the license to sell eggs is $1700 per year  to sell the eggs plus another license to transport them off of your property AND you have to pay for a yearly Board of Health inspection, They couldn't care less if the eggs are safe...as long as they get their $$$$.

Holy smokes that's a lot!!! Who do folks sell them at their own farm and it's ok??

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I don't know where you got your information that it cost 1200 per year. I don't live in Florida but did post a link to their Agriculture Dept. earlier in this thread. I'll repost it so it can be read through carefully. The permit cost for selling shelled eggs is $490 per year. If your gross sales are less than $15,000 then it's only $130 per year.

http://www.freshfromflorida.com/content/download/23982/486665/SellFarmFreshEggs.pdf

 

[drjulian]

I don't know where you got your information that it cost 1200 per year. I don't live in Florida but did post a link to their Agriculture Dept. earlier in this thread. I'll repost it so it can be read through carefully. The permit cost for selling shelled eggs is $490 per year. If your gross sales are less than $15,000 then it's only $130 per year.

http://www.freshfromflorida.com/content/download/23982/486665/SellFarmFreshEggs.pdf

Whoops, there was a typo...the number I was quoting was to be $1000.00, and you need to read the entire document to understand all of the requirements. When you consider the upkeep of the establishment the annual costs are considerable more. And here in FL they DO inspect with prejudice. (There is supposedly a way to bypass some of the facility building requirements but I know of no one who has been successful in doing so.)

The point is here they discourage the selling of eggs unless you are willing to tally up. It makes it unrealistic for someone with a small flock in their yard to sell eggs.

Here are the annual costs & the Facility requirements.

Facility Permits:
$490 to sell
$130 to sell off site (not everyone lives on a main road here)
Food Permit Manager (all permitted establishments must have one):
$160 (plus continuing education)
Food establishment inspection:
varies (estimate $200)

Total Permit fees: ~$980

Here are the FACILITY requirements to sell eggs in FL:

According to Florida Statutes Chapter 500, more
commonly referred to as the Florida Food Safety Act,
an annual food permit is required to process food for
direct sale to consumers. The annual food permit,
which is issued to the facility, allows individuals to
process and sell multiple food products, including
eggs. All eggs for human consumption must be
processed in a permitted facility. Therefore, a facility,
which meets all the requirements to wash, rinse, and
sanitize eggs, is referred to as a permitted facility.
Individuals can build, retrofit, or lease a facility that
meets the minimum construction standards. Based on
the standards published by
FDACS, the following
should serve as an overview of the requirements.
• The size of the facility should comfortably
house all of the equipment.
• The facility must be separate from the living
quarters, with the exception of an attached room
to the homestead where there is no direct access
to the living quarters.
• A sealed concrete floor and washable paint on
the walls and ceilings are sufficient to meet the
requirements for smooth surfaces that can be
cleaned easily.
• Hot and cold running water are essential. The
temperature of the wash water used to wash the
eggs must be 90°F or greater and must be 20
degrees warmer than the temperature of the eggs.
The temperature of the approved sanitizing
solution must be equal to or greater than the
temperature of the wash water. A USDA
approved sanitize and test kit required for use in
Florida can be found online at http://www.nsf.org
/usda/psnclistings.asp (go to the box in the middle
of the web page that says
Nonfood Compounds
Listings
and scroll down until you see Q3: Shell
egg sanitizing compounds, Q4: Shell egg sanitizing
compounds, and Q6: Shell egg sanitizing
compounds
• A three-compartment sink is necessary to wash,
rinse, and sanitize equipment and eggs. The
largest piece of equipment used in your egg
processing operation should fit in the sink. A
separate hand-wash sink is also necessary. Mop
water cannot be dumped into the three-
compartment sink, nor the hand-wash sink,
so a separate mop sink or floor drain is required.
All sinks require hot and cold running water.
• The facility must have equipment capable of
storing the eggs at 45°F or below.
• The facility should be well lit; the minimum
guidelines stipulate at least 50-foot-candles of
light in the food processing areas. Typically, a
household 60-watt bulb is sufficient to meet this
requirement. All lights must be shielded.
• Bathrooms need to meet the Florida plumbing
code. Access to these bathrooms is prohibited
through the food processing areas.
• The water supply must be adequate, clean, safe,
and approved by the Florida Department of
Environmental Protection through a licensed
water provider, such as a municipal supply. For
well water systems, you will need to contact your
County Health Department to submit a water
sample and to receive an analysis stating that
your water is clean, safe, and adequate for
human consumption.
• Waste water must be disposed of properly.
When using a municipal sewage system you will
need the utility provider to sign off, certifying
that the provider is approved by the Florida
Department of Environmental Protection. Onsite
sewage disposal systems (e.g., septic tanks) are
regulated by the County Health Department,
which is responsible for approving this step of
the process. A residential septic system may not
be suitable; your local Department of Health will
determine if an additional tank is required for the
processing facility. Be sure to communicate the
small-scale of your operation to the inspector.

 

[valvet]

Did you ever get started selling eggs?

 

[KatOttesen]

Well for me I am not sure - - - I have some time. And I will only sell them from my farm. I will not exceed 3000 birds - OMG could you imagine?? Nor 15000 a year in sales I mean WOW I wish!! LOL anyways it seems a kitchen meets the requirements - which is ok but I need a 3 compartment sink, my well water tested by the county to see if it's acceptable and then a inspection by dept environmental protection to make sure the waste water from My egg that are washed are disposed of properly In my well system. And after alllllll that I will have to store them reliably at 45 degrees & only from ungraded - unclassified flats...... So I figure I charge by egg and they can buy containers or baskets or being their own..... Whew! I think that's everything! Luckily we won't have reliable production till September ---- so if y'all are interested I'll document my journey & see how it goes!

 

[KatOttesen]

Ohh I also forgot not just a 3 compartment sink but also a seperate hand washing sink----- sooooo I guess using the kitchen isn't and option? Unless I can use the bathroom sink for hand washing. I just don't know about redoing to kitchen to accommodate a 3 compartment sink. And I don't think I can put it I. The garage area to accommodate it sooo we will have to see what we can come up with I was hoping to find others in Florida that already do this..... But so far no luck!

 

[BiggJohnn]

Sad Sad Sad This is Florida regulations:

I can't believe we can't sell a fresh egg without going through all this mess!!!!


Your eggs must be washed, rinsed and sanitized before they can be offered for sale to the public.  You may sell them one of two ways; graded or ungraded.



Graded eggs must be candled to check for the quality of the shell as well as the yolk and white inside.  There must be no cracks anywhere on the shell.  The air cell at the top of the egg must be no larger than 1/8th of an inch to be AA quality.  The eggs must also be weighed according to the following specifications for the weight a dozen:



Jumbo              30 oz. or more


Ex. Large         27 oz.


Large               24 oz.


Medium            21 oz.


Small                18 oz.



Ungraded or unclassified eggs can be sold to the public, but not in dozen containers.  They must be sold on flats and be identified as unclassified by a sign or placard displayed with the eggs.  An acceptable placard is attached above for your convenience.



Also attached above is a Bulletin providing guidance for small egg producers developed by our Department and the University of Florida.  I trust that you will find the information in this Bulletin useful.



Finally, you will need an Annual Food Permit issued by our Department.  The application can be found at:


http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/onestop/forms/14221.pdf



Finally, as we discussed, our Egg Law is designed to cover the million egg a day operation and not the backyard flock.  There is one break we give folks that is not mentioned anywhere above.  We do not require a bathroom in your egg processing facility as long as only family members are processing the eggs.  You may use the bathroom facilities in your home.  If you have any further questions, please let me know.


Paul M. Raynes

Program Manager, Poultry and Egg Grading

Bureau of Food and Meat Inspection

CHARLES H. BRONSON, Commissioner

FL Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services

3125 Conner Boulevard

Tallahassee, FL  32399-1650

[email protected]

(850)245-5539

 

[TLHloveschicks]

Ohh I also forgot not just a 3 compartment sink but also a seperate hand washing sink----- sooooo I guess using the kitchen isn't and option? Unless I can use the bathroom sink for hand washing. I just don't know about redoing to kitchen to accommodate a 3 compartment sink. And I don't think I can put it I. The garage area to accommodate it sooo we will have to see what we can come up with I was hoping to find others in Florida that already do this..... But so far no luck!

Hi KatOttesen,
Just curious how the egg selling is going if you are doing that? I am interested but just trying to gather some information right now. I am also in Florida.

 

[Acre4Me]

Hi KatOttesen,
Just curious how the egg selling is going if you are doing that? I am interested but just trying to gather some information right now. I am also in Florida.

Just FYI, you can click on a user name to see when they were last active. KattO was last active in 2017. But, you can click on their posts (also in the pop up when you click on their name) to see if they did any updates after this thread.

BYC has a location forum. Look under Social, then under “where am I, where are you”. Find your state thread. Ask away.

Good luck