Egg Products and Food Safety
USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline
1-888-MPHotline
(1-888-674-6854)
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is the public health
agency in the U.S. Department of Agriculture responsible for ensuring
that the nation’s commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products
is safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged.
Food Safety Information
United States Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
USDA Photo
The term “egg products” refers to eggs that are removed from their shells
for processing. The processing of egg products includes breaking eggs,
filtering, mixing, stabilizing, blending, pasteurizing, cooling, freezing or
drying, and packaging. This is done at United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA)-inspected plants.
Egg products include whole eggs, whites, yolks and various blends with or
without non-egg ingredients that are processed and pasteurized and may
be available in liquid, frozen, and dried forms.
Egg products are not a new invention. Commercial egg drying began in St.
Louis, Missouri, about 1880. The first commercial production of frozen
whole eggs began in 1903; separated eggs, in 1912. 1951 saw the first
commercial egg breaking machines. No-cholesterol refrigerated or frozen
egg substitutes first became available to consumers in 1973. They consist
of egg whites, artificial color, and other non-egg additives. Specific
questions about egg substitutes should be directed to the manufacturer
or to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Congress passed the Egg Products Inspection Act (EPIA) in 1970. The
EPIA provides for the mandatory continuous inspection of the processing
of liquid, frozen, and dried egg products. For the next 25 years, the
Poultry Division of USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service inspected egg
products to ensure they were wholesome, otherwise not adulterated, and
properly labeled and packaged to protect the health and welfare of
consumers.
In 1995, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) became
responsible for the in