The Law Regarding the Sale of Eggs for Consumption

[LorenaAZ]

My husband and I started with a small flock and now we have over 40 chicks. We love sharing our lives with our girls. Right now with 6 actively laying hens we get more eggs than we know what to do with, so we're giving them away to neighbors and friends. But once our new babes start laying, we would like to sell the eggs. We know we won't make much, if anything at all, and that's not an issue.

What are the laws regarding the sale of eggs for consumption? We free range our girls, and feed them a home made organic diet. We are looking into possibly selling our eggs to organic restaurants & bakeries, at our local farmer's market, CSA, and perhaps the local health food store. We live in Flagstaff, AZ.

Do we need to become a legal business? Do we need to buy insurance? If so, what kind? Do we need some sort of inspection or permit from the USDA, or the Arizona Department of Agriculture, or other entity? Do we need to buy bar codes? We live in an agricultural zoning, so that's not an issue.

We really need advice on how to get this little venture started. TIA.

 

[unionwirewoman]

Depends on the state in which you live in . I wouldn't be too concered if you sell them to friends , neighbors , co- workers . If you sell them at farmers markets you might get caught . I believe in the state of Montana you cannot sell more than 24 dozen a month , if you do than you have to have a liscense . You can look up on google under ag and find your state laws .

 

[lovemychicks2much]

even if you do have to have a business lic. its not a big deal i have ring neck pheasants and i had to get a lic. to just have them and it only cost me 15.00 a year for it so now im cover and i guess i could sell and do anything i want now that i have a lic. lol

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Whether or not you need to be licensed and/or inspected depends on the number of eggs you sell per year. It's been at least a couple of years since I looked, but I remember the number as being extremely high--difficult for a backyard flock to reach.

There is a huge list of things you have to follow to list your eggs as organic. It's somewhere on the USDA website. That same section will give you the information about how you must label your eggs. Check with your County Extension office to see about requirements. You will almost certainly need to have your flock NPIP certified.

Forming an LLC is fairly inexpensive and since you are actually going to be operating a business, you should do so. Yes, you should purchase business insurance.

And just so you know, birds cannot get rabies, so the current concerns about rabid wildlife are not an issue for you (at least as regards to your flock).

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Hi LorenaAz,

I'm assuming you're in Arizona - here's your information:

http://www.azda.gov/licensing/EggCombo.pdf