Egg Regulatory Program Standards announced by the FDA

Many turned to gathering their own eggs as the COVID-19 pandemic caused shortages in the US

The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Egg Regulatory Officials (NERO) are announcing a new initiative for state egg and egg product regulators entitled the Egg Regulatory Program Standards (ERPS). The new standards are designed to integrate the regulatory activities of partner agencies into a process for improving egg and egg product safety in the US. 

The new standards are for egg and egg product regulatory organisations only, not for manufacturers or growers of eggs. The ERPS are comprised of 10 individual standards: regulatory foundation, training program, inspection program, inspection audit program, egg-related illness, outbreak and emergency response, compliance and enforcement program, outreach activities, program resources, program assessment and laboratory support.

The 10 standards, designed to strengthen the safety and integrity of the US egg and egg product supply, are also the core elements of a state’s regulatory programme. The ERPS will provide a framework that every state can use to determine the strengths and challenges of their system.

In 2016, FDA awarded a cooperative agreement to two state programmes whose charge was to provide recommendations for national Egg Regulatory Program Standards (ERPS). Following this, In 2019, a committee comprised of officials from FDA, state agencies, industry and the National Egg Regulatory Officials (NERO) was established to review the recommendations of the awardees. The result of the committee’s collaborative work is the development of the first edition of the ERPS, which the FDA hopes will strengthen states’ egg regulatory programs.

The FDA says the ERPS will also provide the foundation for mutual reliance on inspections and other work conducted by federal and state agencies.