20250 

USDA

United States Department 

-

of Agriculture 

Food Safety and 

Inspection SeNice 

14001ndependence 

Avenue, SW. 

Washington, D.C. 

APR 04 2016 

TO: See Distribution 

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (PSIS) is the public health agency in the 

U.S. Department ofAgriculture responsible for ensuring that meat, poultry, and 

egg products impmted and sold in U.S. commerce are safe, wholesome, and 

c01Tectly labeled and packaged. PSIS enforces, among other laws, the Egg 

Products Inspection Act (EPIA) (21 U.S.C. 1031 et seq.). As a possible result of 

the impact that highly-pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has had on 

U.S.-sourced egg products, PSIS has seen a recent increase in egg products 

offered for impo1t into the United States from ineligible sources. PSIS also has 

seen an increase in egg products labeled with incorrect product names that are 

not eligible to be imported into the U.S. but that somehow entered this country. 

This letter provides information to each foreign country's Central Competent 

Authority (CCA) on: 

• 	 egg products under PSIS jurisdiction; 

• 	 foreign country eligibility; 

• 	 plant eligibility; 

• 	 misbranded egg products; 

• 	 the U.S. import process; and 

• 	 enforcement provisions for ineligible or misbranded egg products that 

anive at the borders ofthe United States or enter U.S. commerce. 

Foreign countries that export egg products to the United States are required to 

establish and maintain inspection systems that are equivalent to those ofthe 

United States. PSIS audits eligible foreign inspection systems and reinspects all 

egg products offered for import to ensure that the products are wholesome, not 

adulterated, and properly labeled. 

Egg products under FSIS jurisdiction: PSIS regulations (9 CFR 590.5, 

590.570, and 590.575) identify egg products under PSIS jurisdiction, including: 

• 	 Egg albumin, dried; 

• 	 Egg albumin other than dried; 

• 	 Dried egg whites; 

• 	 Pasteurized Frozen Whole Egg with citric acid; 

• 	 Plain Pasteurized Frozen Whole Egg without added ingredients; 

• 	 Pasteurized Liquid Yolk with 10% salt; 

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• 	 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). 

The list above is not all inclusive. Questions about whether or not FSIS has jurisdiction 

over egg products not listed in this letter should be refened to FSIS 's Office of 

International Coordination, at intemationalcoordination@fsis.usda.gov, which will direct 

the inquiry to the appropriate egg product subject matter experts in FSIS. 

Foreign Country Eligibility: FSIS regulates the importation of egg products, which 

must come from countries that have food safety systems for egg products that are 

determined by FSIS to be equivalent to that ofthe United States (21 U.S.C. 1046, 9 CFR 

590.910(a)). There are two countries authorized to expo1i egg products to the United 

States, Canada and The Netherlands. 

To determine whether a country maintains an equivalent inspection system, FSIS 

conducts a thorough document review ofthat country's relevant laws, regulations, and 

other official publications and one or more on-site audits ofthe country's relevant 

inspection system. IfFSIS concludes that the system is equivalent based on that review, 

FSIS proposes to list the country in the egg products inspection regulations as eligible to 

export egg products to the United States. FSIS then requests and evaluates the comments 

it receives in response to the proposal and determines whether to finalize a determination 

that the country's system is equivalent. IfFSIS concludes that the country' s system is 

equivalent, the Agency publishes a final rnle listing the country in FSIS's regulations as 

eligible to export egg products to the United States. More info1mation regarding the 

equivalence process can be found at: 

http://www.fsis. usda. gov /wps/portal/fsis/topics/i ntemati onal-affairs/imp01iingproducts/ eguivalence/ eguivalence-process-overview. 

Plant Eligibility: Plants that are eligible to export egg products to the United States 

must be ce1iified by the foreign country's CCA as being in compliance with all 

equivalent U.S. requirements. 

Misbranded Egg Products: For PSIS-regulated egg products, the use ofthe generic 

te1m "Bird" to identify the type ofpoultry from which the egg products originated from is 

unacceptable, and product under FSIS jmisdiction labeled with that term will be 

considered misbranded. Ifthe egg products are processed from the shell egg of a turkey, 

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goose, duck, or guinea (not domesticated chicken), then the name ofthe type ofpoultry 

must be included as pait ofthe common or usual product name (e.g., Pasteurized Frozen 

Whole Goose Egg with citric acid). Ifthe egg products are processed from the shell egg 

of a domesticated chicken, the word "egg" must appear as part of the common or usual 

product name, but the word "chicken" need not appear. 

FSIS has identified the following egg products descriptions that have appeared on 

ineligible or misbranded imported egg product labels. These egg product descriptions are 

not a recognized common or usual name for any egg products that are under FSIS 

jurisdiction, and, thus, they are neither acceptable, nor can they be used, to label, invoice, 

or ce1tify egg product shipments to the United States. Each foreign country's CCA needs 

to take steps to prevent shipment ofthese and other ineligible or misbranded products to 

the United States. 

• 	 Bird Egg Yolks Dried (because the word "bird" does not specify the type of 

poultry) 

• 	 Bird Egg Yolk Other than Dried (because the word "bird" does not specify the 

type ofpoultry) 

• 	 Bird Egg Not in Shell Dried, Not Yolk (because the word "bird" does not specify 

the type ofpoultry) 

• 	 Bird Egg Not in Shell Not Dried (because the word "bird" does not specify the 

type ofpoultry) · 

• 	 Not Dry/Yolk (because the type ofpoultry, if not produced from chicken eggs, 

and an accurate and acceptable product description is not specified) 

• 	 Food Preparation product (because FSIS dete1mined that the product was an 

PSIS-amenable egg product based on the product fmmulation) 

• 	 Protein Concentrates and Textured Protein Substances (because PSIS determined 

that the product was an amenable egg product based on the product formulation) 

Import Process: Foreign inspection certificates issued by the CCA ofthe exp01ting 

country are required to accompany all egg products shipments to the United States. Upon 

an-ival at the designated PSIS-approved inspection location, FSIS inspection program 

personnel reinspect all egg product shipments before they are allowed into U.S. 

commerce. Every lot of product is given a visual inspection for appearance and condition, 

is checked for ce1tification and label compliance, and is subject to FSIS sampling for 

analysis. Shipments that pass reinspection are allowed to enter U.S. commerce and are 

treated as domestic product. 

USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) may apply animal disease 

restrictions to some egg products. These egg products would require an APHIS 

Veterinary Service pe1mit before FSIS inspects the product. Impottantly, imported egg 

products that require an APHIS Veterinary Service permit for entry into the United States 

must still be reinspected by PSIS at an approved inspection location. 

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Egg substitutes, imitation eggs, and similar products that are not considered egg products1 

are under the jurisdiction ofthe Department ofHealth and Human Services' Food and 

Drug Administration. 

Enforcement Provisions: FSIS refuses the entry of egg product shiprnents presented for 

import reinspection that are ineligible, misbranded, or othe1wise in violation ofthe EPIA, 

as well as the implementing regulations for the Act (9 CFR 590.925). Furthermore, 

beginning on May 1, 2016, FSIS may request that the impo1ter ofrecord voluntarily 

recall from U.S. commerce any egg product that is ineligible or misbranded and that 

inappropriately entered the United States after that date. FSIS will notify CCAs ofsuch 

an action. 

Through this letter, CCAs are notified that FSIS is taking new steps to better ensure that 

egg products are not adulterated, ineligible, or misbranded upon entry into the United 

States. FSIS looks forward to working with foreign governments, indush·y, and all 

interested stakeholders in implementing these changes. 

Sincerely, 

~~~:fcutive Office ofInternational Coordination 

1 The FSIS amenable egg product component ofthe exempted food must still come from an approved 

source (see http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/intemational-affairs/importingproducts/imp0tted-food-products-containing-a-small-amount-of-meat-poultrv-or-processed-egg-productingredients) or eggs containing no more restricted eggs than are allowed in the official standards for U.S. 

Consumer Grade B shell eggs. 

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DISTRIBUTION: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, 

Bolivia, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, 

Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, England, 

European Commission, Falkland Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Guyana, Greece, 

Guatemala, Herzegovina, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, 

Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, 

Montenegro, Myanmar, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Northern 

Ireland, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, 

Russian Federation, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, 

Spain, State of Samoa, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United 

Kingdom, Uruguay, Vietnam, Wales 

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