Due to the expected shortage of egg products in the United States because of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in egg laying hens, companies that use egg products are asking about foreign sources of eggs and egg products.

FSIS Regulated Egg Products

The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is responsible for inspecting egg products under the authority of the Egg Products Inspection Act (EPIA) (21 U.S.C. 1031 et seq.). Defined in both the EPIA and FSIS' egg products inspection regulations (9 CFR part 590), egg products are liquid, frozen, or dried eggs, with or without added ingredients (9 CFR 590.5). Some examples include pasteurized frozen whole egg with citric acid; plain pasteurized frozen whole egg without added ingredients; pasteurized liquid yolk with 10% salt; pasteurized frozen scrambled egg mix with whole egg and pepper, starch, and dried milk; frozen yolks with 10% sugar added; frozen egg whites with whipping aids (such as sodium sulfate or triethyl citrate); pasteurized enzyme modified dried egg product with egg yolks and xanthan gum and citric acid to preserve color, and less than 1% silicon dioxide as an anticaking agent and phospholipase; spray dried albumin; and spray dried egg whites with calcium citrate and salt (or other added ingredients). Examples of products that are exempted as not being egg products and not subject to FSIS inspection include cooked egg products, imitation egg products, dietary foods, dried no-bake custard mixes, eggnog mixes, acidic dressings, noodles, milk and egg dip, cake mixes, French toast, and sandwiches containing eggs or egg products, provided such products are prepared from inspected egg products or eggs containing no more restricted eggs than are allowed in the official standards for U.S. Consumer Grade B shell eggs. Balut and other similar ethnic delicacies are also exempted from inspection under 9 CFR part 590.

To be eligible to enter the United States, egg products must come from countries that have an inspection system that FSIS has found to be equivalent to that of the United States (21 U.S.C. 1046, 9 CFR 590.910(a)). To determine whether a country maintains an equivalent inspection system for egg products under FSIS jurisdiction, FSIS conducts a thorough document review of that country's relevant laws, regulations, and inspection procedures, and conducts one or more onsite audits to verify implementation of the country's inspection system. When FSIS determines that the country's inspection system meets FSIS equivalence requirements, FSIS proposes to find the country equivalent through a notice with a request for public comment in the Federal Register. FSIS considers public comments and publishes a final notice in the Federal Register responding to comments and announcing a final decision concerning equivalence. For more information on the FSIS equivalence process, please refer to the Equivalence page on the FSIS website.

Egg products entering the United States must also be accompanied by an official inspection certificate issued by the Central Competent Authority of the country exporting the egg products. All shipments of egg products must be presented at an official import inspection establishment or at a domestic establishment for reinspection by FSIS inspection personnel.

Currently there are three countries eligible to export egg products to the United States: Canada, Lithuania, and the Netherlands. The list of foreign establishments certified as eligible to export egg products to the United States can be found on the respective country pages in the FSIS Import & Export Library. At this time, the Netherlands does not have any egg products establishments certified as eligible to export to the United States.

Egg products exported to the United States are also subject to animal health requirements or restrictions as determined by USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). To determine whether there are any animal health restrictions on a foreign country's eligibility to export egg products to the United States, countries should refer to the Animal Product Imports page on the APHIS website.

Agencies Responsible for Shell Eggs

Jurisdiction over imported shell eggs is shared by three federal agencies: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), USDA's APHIS, and USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). More information on each of these agencies' roles can be found on their respective websites:

FDA-https://www.fda.gov/food/food-imports-exports/importing-food-products-united-states

APHIS-https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal-product-import

AMS-https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/imports-exports/breaking-stock