EN    EN  COMMISSION OF THE E UROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 09.03.2006 
COM(2006) 89 final/2 
Corrigendum : Aux articles 12 et 13 la date d’entr ée en vigueur doit se lire “1 July  2007 au 
lieu de 1 January 2007. Concerne uniquement la version EN. 
  
Proposal for a 
COUNCIL REGULATION 
on marketing standards for eggs 
(presented by the Commission) 
 
EN 2   EN EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM  
Council Regulation (EEC) No 1907/90 on certain marketing standards for eggs lays down 
several rules for marketing of e ggs, including a considerable number  of very technical rules.  
Since its adoption in 1990, the Regulation ha s been amended six times. A number of 
amendments were made, either to introduce new requirements, as in the case of the marking 
of eggs with the producer’s di stinguishing number, or for adap ting certain technical standards 
to new market needs. These modifications have made the Regulation difficult to read. 
The simplification of Community legislation is central to agricultural policy and law making. 
This was highlighted by the recent Communica tion from the Commission on Simplification 
and Better Regulation for the Common Agri cultural Policy [COM(2005) 509 final of 
19.10.2005]. Replacing Council Regulation (EC) No  1907/90 by simplified and streamlined 
provisions, and the transfer of technical el ements to a Commission implementing regulation 
should be seen in this context. 
 
EN 3   EN Proposal for a 
COUNCIL REGULATION 
on marketing standards for eggs 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 
Having regard to the Treaty esta blishing the European Community, 
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC ) No 2771/75 of 29 October 1975 on the common 
organisation of the market in eggs1, and in particular Article 2(2) thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,2 
Whereas: (1) Marketing standards for eggs  can contribute to the improve ment in the quality of eggs 
and, consequently, facilitate their sale. It is therefore in the in terest of producers, 
traders and consumers that marketing standa rds should be applied in respect of eggs. 
(2) The experience gained from the applic ation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1907/90 
of 26 June 1990 on certain ma rketing standards for eggs
3 has made apparent the need 
for further amendments and simplifica tion. Regulation (EEC) No 1907/90 should 
therefore be repealed and re placed by a new Regulation. 
(3) The standards should in principle be applic able to all eggs of hens of the species 
Gallus gallus  marketed in the Community. Neve rtheless, it appears advisable to 
exempt from the application of those standa rds certain forms of direct sale from the 
producer to the final consumer wh ere small quantities are involved. 
(4) A clear distinction shoul d be drawn between eggs suitable for direct human 
consumption and eggs not suitable for direct  human consumption, in particular broken 
or incubated eggs, which are for use in  the food and non-food industry. Two quality 
classes of eggs, Class A and Class B,  should therefore be distinguished. 
(5) The consumer should be able to disti nguish between eggs of different quality and 
weight grades and should be able to iden tify the farming method used in accordance 
with Commission Directive 2002/4/EC of 30 January 2002 on the registration of 
                                                 
1 OJ L 282, 1.11.1975, p. 49. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1913/2005 (OJ L 307, 
25.11.2005, p. 2). 
2 OJ C […] […], p. […] 
3 OJ L 173, 6.7.1990, p. 5. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1039/2005 (OJ L 172, 
5.7.2005, p. 1). 
 
EN 4   EN establishments keeping laying hens, covered by Council Directive 1999/74/EC4. This 
requirement should be met by marking eggs and stamping packs. 
(6) Eggs should be marked with the distingui shing number of the producer as provided for 
in Directive 2002/4/EC in order to be able  to trace eggs placed on the market for 
human consumption. 
(7) In order to prevent fraudulent practices, Cl ass A eggs should be marked as early as 
possible after laying. 
(8) Packing centres that ar e approved in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of 
the European Parliament and the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific 
hygiene rules for food of animal origin5 should grade eggs by quality and weight. 
(9) In order to make sure that packing centr es are adequately equi pped to grade eggs and 
pack Class A eggs, they should also be au thorised by the competent authorities and 
receive a packing centre code that facilitate s the tracing of eggs placed on the market. 
(10) It is essential, in the interest of both producers and consumers, that eggs imported from 
third countries comply with Community st andards. However, sp ecial provisions in 
force in certain third countri es may justify derogations from those standards if the 
equivalence of legislation is guaranteed. 
(11) The Member States should designate the agency or agencies responsible for 
supervision of this Regulation. The pro cedures for such supervision should be 
uniform. 
(12) The Member State should lay down rules on penalties applicable to infringements of 
the provisions of this Regulation. 
(13) The measures necessary for the implemen tation of this Regulation should be adopted 
in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/CE of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of impl ementing powers conferred on the Commission
6, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 – Subject matter and scope 
1. This Regulation lays down the conditions of marketing within the Community of the 
eggs produced in the Community or  imported from third countries. 
Those conditions of marketing shall also ap ply to eggs intended for export outside 
the Community. 
2. This Regulation shall not a pply to eggs sold directly to the final consumer by the 
producer:  
(a) on his own farm,  
                                                 
4 OJ L 30, 31.1.2002, p. 44. Directive as amended by the 2003 Act of Accession. 
5 OJ L 139, 30.4.2004, p. 55. Corrected version in OJ L 226, 25.6.2004, p. 22. 
6 OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. 
 
EN 5   EN (b) in a local public market in the re gion of production of the Member State 
concerned with the exception of auction markets, or  
(c) by door-to-door selling. 
Article 2 – Definitions 
For the purposes of this Regulation, th e following definitions shall apply: 
(1) “eggs” means eggs in shell from hens of the species Gallus gallus , fit for human 
consumption or for use in the food industry, except for broken eggs, incubated eggs and cooked eggs; 
(2) “broken eggs” means eggs showing break s of both the shell and the membranes, 
resulting in the exposure of their contents; 
(3) “incubated eggs” means eggs from th e time of insertion in the incubator; 
(4) “marketing” means holding or displaying fo r sale, offering for sale, selling, delivery 
or any other form of placing on the market; 
(5) “production site” means an establis hment keeping laying hens approved in 
accordance with Directive 2002/4/EC; 
(6) “packing centre” means an establishment approved in accordance with Regulation 
(EC) No 853/2004, where eggs are graded by quality and weight; 
(7) “final consumer” means the ultimate consumer of a foodstuff who will not use the 
food as part of any food bus iness operation or activity. 
Article 3 – Quality and weight classes 
1. Eggs shall be graded by quality as follows: 
– Class A or “fresh”, 
– Class B or “second quality”. 
2. Class A eggs shall also  be graded by weight. 
3. Class B eggs shall only be deliv ered to the food and non-food industry. 
Article 4 – Marking of eggs 
1. Class A eggs shall be marked with the distinguishing number of the production site 
as provided for in point 2 of the Annex to Directive 2002/4/EC, in order to permit 
inter alia  the farming method to be identified. 
2. The marking of eggs in accordance with  paragraph 1 shall take place at the 
production site or at the first packi ng centre to which eggs are delivered. 
 
EN 6   EN 3. By way of derogation from  Article 1(3), eggs sold by the producer to the final 
consumer on a local public market in th e region of production of the Member State 
concerned shall be marked in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article.  
However, Member States may exempt from this requirement producers whose 
holding does not exceed 50 laying hens, provide d that the name and address of the 
holding are indicated at the place of sale. 
Article 5 – Packing centres 
1. Eggs shall be graded by quality and weight in packing centres.  
2. The competent authority shall authorise pack ing centres to grade eggs and shall allot 
a packing centre code to any undertaking or producer whose premises and technical 
equipment are suitable for grading eggs by quality and weight. Such authorisation 
may be withdrawn whenever the required conditions laid down in the implementing 
rules adopted pursuant to Article 11 are no longer fulfilled. 
Article 6 – Import of eggs 
1. The Commission shall evaluate the rules on marking and labelling applicable in 
exporting third countries on reque st of the country concerned. If it finds th at the rules 
applied offer sufficient guarantees as to equivalence with Community legislation, 
eggs imported from the countries concerne d shall be marked w ith a distinguishing 
number as referred to in Article 4(1). 
2. The Commission shall, where necessary, c onduct negotiations with third countries 
aiming at finding appropriate ways of offering guarantees as referred to in 
paragraph 1 and concluding agreements on such guarantees. 
3. If sufficient guarantees as to equivalen ce of rules are not provided, imported eggs 
from the third country concerned shall bear  a code permitting the identification of the 
country of origin and the indication that  the farming method is “unspecified”. 
Article 7 – Controls 
1. The Member States shall appoint agencies  to check compliance with this Regulation. 
2. The agencies referred to in paragraph 1 shall check the products covered by this 
Regulation at all stages of  marketing, including loadi ng, unloading and transport. 
Apart from random sampling, checks shall be  carried out on the basis of a risk 
analysis, taking into account the type and throughput of the establishment concerned, 
as well as the operator’s past records as regards compliance with the marketing standards for eggs. 
3. For Class A eggs imported from third count ries, checks provided for in paragraph 2 
shall be made at the time of custom cl earance and prior to the release for free 
circulation.  
 
EN 7   EN Class B eggs imported from third countries sh all be released only provided that their 
final destination to proc essing industry is checked. 
Article 8 – Penalties 
The Member States shall lay down the rules on pe nalties applicable to infringements of the 
provisions of this Regulation and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are 
implemented. The penalties provided for must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. 
Article 9 – Communications 
The Member States and the Commission shal l communicate to each other the information 
necessary for the applica tion of this Regulation. 
Article 10 – Committee 
1. The Commission shall be assisted by th e Management Committee for Poultrymeat 
and Eggs. 
2. Where reference is made to this Arti cle, Articles 4 and 7 of Decision1999/468/EC 
shall apply. 
The period laid down in Ar ticle 4(3) of Decision 1999/46 8/EC shall be set at one 
month. 
3. The Committee shall adopt its Rules of Procedure. 
Article 11 –Implementing rules 
Detailed rules for the implementation of this Regulation shall be adopted in accordance with 
the procedure referred to in Articl e 10(2), in particular regarding: 
(1) frequency of collection, delivery, preservation and handling of eggs; 
(2) quality criteria and weight gradi ng, as well as exceptio ns to the grading 
requirements; 
(3) particulars of indications on eggs and stamping of packs; 
(4) checks and controls; 
(5) trade with third countries; 
(6) communications referred to in Article 9. 
Article 12 – Repeal 
1. Regulation (EEC) No 1907/90 is  repealed from 1 July 2007. 
2. References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as references to this 
Regulation and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in the Annex. 
 
EN 8   EN Article 13 – Entry into force 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the se venth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of  the European Union . 
It shall apply from 1 July 2007. 
This Regulation shall be binding in  its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 
Done at Brussels,  
 For the Council 
 The President 
 
EN 9   EN ANNEX  
Correlation table 
Regulation (EEC) No 1907/90  This Regulation 
Article 1 Article 2 
Article 2(1) Article 1(1) 
Article 2(3) – 
Article 2(4) – 
Article 3 – 
Article 4 – 
Article 5(1) and (3) Article 5 
Article 5(2) – 
Article 6(1) and (2) Article 3 
Article 6(3) Article 11 
Article 6(4) and (5) – 
Article 7(1)(a) Article 4(1) 
Article 7(1)(b) and (c) Article 6 
Article 7(1)(d) Article 11 
Article 7(2) – 
Article 8 – 
Article 9 – 
Article 10 – 
Article 11 – 
Article 12 – 
Article 13  – 
Article 14 – 
Article 15 – 
Article 16(1) first sentence Article 1(2) 
Article 17 – 
Article 18 Article 7(1) and (2) 
Article 19 – 
Article 20(1) Article 11 
Article 20(2) – (4) – 
Article 21 Article 8 
Article 22(1) Article 9 
Article 22a – 
Article 23 Article 12 
Article 24 Article 13 
Annex I Annex