36
IX. Egg Grading and Certification
Services
Federal-State Grading Programs
For over 70 years, USDA in cooperation with the various
States has conducted a voluntary Federal-State egg-grad-
ing service. The legislation authorizing this service pro-
vides that it be conducted on a self-supporting basis
financed from fees charged to the applicants.
The grading service is based on the U.S. standards for
quality of individual shell eggs and the U.S. grades and
weight classes for consumer and nest run grades of shell
eggs. In addition, contract purchase specifications serve as
another basis for performing grading or inspection of lots
of eggs tendered for delivery under purchase agreements.
The various purchase specifications are, of course, based
on the U.S. standards for quality of individual shell eggs.
Although the first quality standards for individual eggs
were developed in 1925, the first standards for grades
and weight classes were enacted under the Agricultural
Marketing Act of 1946. It was during this period that the
U.S. Government became involved in developing grade
standards for numerous agricultural products. The appli-
cation of standardized requirements for eggs became
essential in fair trade and, subsequently, impacted the
economical spectrum within the industry.
In the early days of the Federal-State grading service for
poultry and eggs, the work consisted largely of examining
eggs and poultry purchased by the U.S. Navy, to deter-
mine compliance with procurement specifications.
Grading and inspection service of this type was gradually
extended to other Government agencies and private insti-
tutions that purchased eggs and poultry products.
Grading offices were established at the important terminal
markets along the east and west coasts, as well as in the
inland terminal markets, such as St. Louis, MO., and
Chicago, IL. These offices, in addition to providing grad-
ing service for eggs, poultry, and poultry products, han-
dled the market news reporting activities which began at
about the same time.
The growth of the service was slow at first, but expansion
continued at a steady pace during the thirties. The most
rapid expansion occurred during World War II in con-
nection with Government buying programs for the
Armed Forces, and it was during this period that resident
grading programs developed into major importance.
The use of the services and the volume of products
inspected and graded continued to expand after the end
of hostilities. This expansion was due in part to the price-
support programs that followed and to the fact that firms
had previous experience with Federal-State grading and
inspection programs and were continuing to use them in
their processing and marketing programs.
Under these programs, a qualified USDA-licensed grader,
whose duties included the grading of shell eggs in accor-
dance with U.S. standards, was placed in the processing
plant. With the advent of this “resident grader” type of
service, the volume of products graded on a “fee basis”
became proportionately less important, considering the
overall volume officially graded. Resident services are
usually performed by graders who are assigned to a spe-
cific plant on either a full-time or part-time basis.
Today, resident graders are used in the production areas,
as well as in the distribution centers. Resident grading
offers several advantages over the terminal market or fee
type of grading service:
1. Graders are constantly available to grade and certify the
pack, whether in cartons or loose.
2. Grading is likely to be more uniform because the grad-
er is continuously available to check the accuracy of
the candlers and processing equipment.
3. By constantly sampling product and monitoring the
grading operation, graders can detect quality problems
before large amounts of product are packed and reject-
ed.
4. Depending on the volume of product graded, cost of
resident grading service is usually substantially less per
unit than intermittent fee grading.
5. Only resident plants are allowed to identify product
with the USDA grade shield.
Grading service can also be provided on a “temporary
plant” as-needed basis when requested by the appli-
cant. Temporary plants must meet the same minimum
facility, operating, and sanitary requirements specified
in the regulations for resident service. All processing,
grading, and packing of product identified with the
grade shield must be completed under the supervision
of the assigned grader.
Fee grading is performed when an applicant requests
grading of a particular lot of eggs, often for verification of
grade, size, or compliance with other contract require-