Agricultural Produce Grading Act

SHELL EGG GRADING REGULATION

[includes amendments up to B.C. Reg. 481/90]

Interpretation

1 In this regulation,

"Act" means the Agricultural Produce Grading Act;

"carton" means a container made to contain 6, 12, 18, 24 or 30 eggs, with a separate compartment for each egg;

"consumer" means a person who buys eggs for use by himself or his household and not for resale;

"container" means a case, box, carton or other receptacle made to contain eggs;

"domestic hen" means the hen of the domestic chicken belonging to the species Gallus domesticus;

"egg" means an egg of a domestic hen but does not include a hatching egg;

"egg product" means frozen egg, liquid egg, dried egg or a mix;

"egg station" means a place where eggs are graded, packed or marked, and in respect of which a certificate of registration has been issued under the Canada Agricultural Products Act;

"egg wholesale station" means a place where eggs that have been previously graded are held for sale to

(a) retailers, or

(b) any person in quantities of 15 dozen or more at one time;

"grade" means the classification of poultry products according to the prescribed standards;

"graded eggs" means eggs in a container that is marked with one of the grades referred to in section 2 (1);

"process" means any part of the work of preparing egg product;

"producer" means a person who ships, transports or sells only eggs produced on his own farm;

"producer grader" means a producer who has been issued a producer grader licence by the minister;

"reject" means an egg that does not meet the requirements of one of the grades referred to in section 2 (1) or that has been in an incubator;

"retailer" means a person who sells or offers to sell eggs or has eggs in his possession for the purpose of selling them to a consumer;

"ungraded eggs" means eggs in containers which are not marked with one of the grades referred to in section 2 (1);

"weight" means the net weight of a box or case of shell eggs;

"wholesaler" means a person other than a producer who sells eggs to

(a) a retailer, or

(b) any person in quantities of 15 dozen or more for use as food or in the preparation of food, or

(c) an egg product station.

[am. B.C. Reg. 263/85, s. 1.]

Application of regulation

2 (1) Except as provided in this regulation all containers of eggs sold, offered for sale or held in possession for sale in the Province shall be marked with one of the following grades and shall conform with the Canada Agricultural Products Act and the regulations under it with respect to that grade:

(a) Canada A-1 Extra Size;

(b) Canada A-1 Large Size;

(c) Canada A-1 Medium Size;

(d) Canada A-1 Small Size;

(e) Canada A Extra Large Size;

(f) Canada A Large Size;

(g) Canada A Medium Size;

(h) Canada A Small Size;

(i) Canada A Pee Wee Size;

(j) Canada B;

(k) Canada C.

(2) This regulation does not apply to a producer who produces and sells eggs direct to a consumer at the producer's farm or place of residence.

(3) No person shall sell, offer for sale or send or convey from one place to another eggs marked Canada C, except to an egg product station for the purpose of processing into egg product.

(4) Section 2 (1) does not apply to eggs marked with the name of a foreign country and the name of a grade of that country, provided the eggs meet the standard for the Canada grade equivalent to the grade name of the eggs.

Ungraded eggs

3 (1) No person shall, for the purpose of reselling them, purchase or otherwise obtain ungraded eggs from a producer without a valid and subsisting licence to purchase ungraded eggs.

(2) No person shall sell, offer for sale or process ungraded eggs or send or convey them from one place to another other than

(a) a producer sending or conveying eggs produced on his farm to an egg station or an egg product station, or

(b) with the prior written approval of a producer, an egg station sending or conveying ungraded eggs received by it from the producer to an egg product station for processing.

(3) An egg station or egg product station shall clearly identify each producer's eggs received by it.

(4) An egg station shall keep each producer's eggs separate from those of any other producer while grading them and a bench count record shall be completed at the time of grading and on such forms as the Lieutenant Governor in Council may prescribe.

(5) Containers and trays in which ungraded eggs are packed for shipment to a licensee shall be reasonably clean and sound in construction.

(6) No person shall

(a) grade eggs produced on his own farm,

(b) sell or offer for sale graded eggs produced on his own farm, or

(c) possess for the purpose of selling graded eggs produced on his own farm

unless he holds a valid and subsisting producer grader licence issued by the minister.

(7) A room used by a producer grader for the grading and holding of eggs shall be,

(a) sound in construction, clean and in good repair,

(b) separated from any source of odours that may affect the flavour or taste of the eggs,

(c) adequate in size for the volume of eggs graded,

(d) constructed of materials that will permit thorough cleaning of the floor, walls and ceiling,

(e) where eggs are washed, equipped with an adequate supply of potable water,

(f) kept clean and free from mice, rats and other vermin, and

(g) maintained at a temperature below 18º C.

(8) Eggs graded by a producer grader that fail to meet the requirements of a grade referred to in section 2 (1) shall be destroyed or packed in containers bearing the words "Rejects — Not for Human Consumption".

[am. B.C. Reg. 263/85, s. 2]

Records

4 (1) The operator of an egg station or an egg product station shall maintain complete records including a grading statement for each lot of eggs received from a producer containing

(a) name, address and registration number of the egg station or egg product station,

(b) name and address of the producer,

(c) date of receipt of the eggs,

(d) quantity of eggs received,

(e) date of grading or processing,

(f) date of payment,

(g) amount of advance payment, if any

(h) quantity of eggs graded into each grade or quantity and weight processed,

(i) the price for each grade, or for the quantity and weight processed, and

(j) the total value of the eggs.

(2) Every producer grader shall make a report to the District Supervisor, Poultry Division, Agriculture Canada each week on a form prescribed under the Canada Agricultural Products Act disclosing the number of eggs graded during that week, the grades of such eggs and such other information as may be requested.

(3) The operator of an egg station or an egg product station shall retain at his place of business for a period of 90 days after payment, one copy of each grading statement.

Payment by egg stations

5 (1) Egg stations shall pay for ungraded eggs on a graded basis or on a weight basis but where the egg station

(a) grades the eggs in accordance with section 2 (1),

(b) places them in the highest qualifying grades, and

(c) sells each grade at a different price, unless the current market price is the same for 2 grades, in which case they are sold at the same price,

it shall pay for the eggs on a graded basis.

(2) Egg product stations shall pay for ungraded eggs on a weight basis.

(3) The operator of an egg station or egg product station shall, within 10 days after receiving ungraded eggs,

(a) furnish to the person who shipped the ungraded eggs to the station a copy of the grading statement or statement of quantity and weight of eggs processed, and

(b) make payment or final settlement for the eggs received.

Security for payment

6 (1) An applicant for a licence to purchase ungraded eggs shall furnish, and a holder of a licence to purchase ungraded eggs shall maintain, security in the form of a bond of a surety licensed under the Insurance Act, for the payment of money payable to a producer for ungraded eggs purchased by or through the holder of the licence, in the following amounts:

(a) for an annual purchase of $100 to $30 000, a bond of $3 000;

(b) for an annual purchase of more than $30 000 to $60 000, a bond of $6 000;

(c) for an annual purchase of more than $60 000 to $100 000, a bond of $10 000;

(d) for an annual purchase of more than $100 000, a bond of $20 000.

(2) The Bonding Act applies to a bond obtained to comply with this section.

(3) No change shall be made in the penal sum of a bond during a licence period except with the consent, or at the demand, of the minister.

(4) Where a bond furnished or maintained under subsection (1) becomes impaired by a payment made from it or ceases to be in effect, the licence is ipso facto suspended pending the furnishing or renewal of the bond and the licensee shall forthwith deliver the licence to the minister.

(5) The minister shall cancel the licence where, after the expiration of one month from the date of suspension, the licensee has failed to furnish or renew the bond.

(6) Where a licensee fails to deliver the licence to the minister under subsection (4), the minister may cause a peace officer to recover possession of the licence.

Licensing

7 (1) An application for a licence or renewal of a licence to purchase ungraded eggs shall be accompanied by

(a) the fee provided in Schedule A, and

(b) a bond referred to in section 6 (1).

(1.1) An application for a producer grader licence or renewal of a producer grader licence shall be accompanied by the fee provided in Schedule A.

(2) An application for renewal of a licence shall be made by November 30.

(3) The term of the licence is from January 1 or the date of issuance, as the case may be, to December 31.

[am. B.C. Reg. 263/85, s. 3.]

Branch licence

8 No licence holder shall operate at more than one location unless he is the holder of a valid and subsisting licence for each branch premises.

Wholesalers

9 (1) No person shall act as a wholesaler of eggs unless he is a producer or the operator of an egg station or is licenced by the minister to operate an egg wholesale station.

(2) An egg wholesale station, in order to qualify for a licence, shall be

(a) of sound construction, clean and sanitary, and maintained in good repair,

(b) of sufficient size to adequately accommodate the volume of eggs handled,

(c) of such material, construction and finish as to permit easy and thorough cleaning,

(d) separated from any room or premises used for the manufacturing, storing or holding of any commodity that may emit odours that may affect the flavour or taste of eggs,

(e) equipped with artificial refrigeration operated by mechanical means of a type and capacity adequate to the needs of the station, and

(f) equipped with a tested thermometer and maintained at a temperature not exceeding 13° C.

Advertising

10 (1) For the purposes of this section, "advertisement" includes a carton or card displayed with eggs in a retail store.

(2) No person shall publish an untrue, deceptive, or misleading advertisement or statement with respect to eggs offered for sale or held for sale or distribution.

(3) In an advertisement in which the price appears, the grade shall be stated in letters of at least equal size and prominence to those of the price.

(4) No person shall, in an advertisement offering eggs for sale, state or use words or phrases implying that the eggs of the grade advertised are superior in condition or quality to that required for eggs of that grade.

Licences for rejects

11 (1) No person shall sell or offer for sale rejects without a licence from the minister.

(2) An application for a licence to sell rejects shall be accompanied by the fee provided in Schedule A.

(3) A licence to sell rejects shall

(a) only be issued to a producer or the operator of an egg station or egg product station,

(b) not be transferable, and

(c) remain in force until the 31st day of December next following the day of issue, unless sooner cancelled, suspended or surrendered.

(4) The holder of a licence to sell rejects shall

(a) keep a record of the sale of all rejects showing

(i) the name and address of the purchaser of each lot of rejects sold,

(ii) the quantity of eggs in each lot, and

(iii) the date of sale, and

(b) retain the record made pursuant to paragraph (a) for not less than 90 days after the date of the sale.

(5) A container that contains rejects shall be marked as follows:

(a) on one line in letters not less than 12 mm in height the words "Rejects — Not for Human Consumption";

(b) on another line in letters not less than 6 mm in height the name and address of the egg station, producer or the egg product station.

(6) The markings referred to in subsection (5) shall be printed, stamped or stencilled on the container or printed in black lettering on a brown tag not less than 75 mm by 150 mm in size that is affixed securely to the container.

(7) No person shall purchase or otherwise obtain rejects

(a) for resale, or

(b) in an amount exceeding 15 dozen eggs in any one calendar month without a licence from the minister.

(8) An application for a licence to purchase rejects shall be accompanied by the fee provided in Schedule A.

(9) A licence to purchase rejects shall

(a) not be transferable, and

(b) remain in force until the 31st of December next following the date of issue, unless sooner cancelled, suspended or surrendered.

(10) The holder of a licence to purchase rejects shall, on or before the 15th day of each month, furnish a statement to the inspector showing

(a) the quantity of rejects purchased or otherwise obtained during the previous calendar month,

(b) the names and addresses of the persons from whom the rejects were purchased or otherwise obtained and the dates of purchasing or otherwise obtaining the rejects, and

(c) the purpose for which the rejects were purchased or otherwise obtained.

(11) No person shall purchase or sell or offer for sale rejects for use as food, or in the preparation of food, for human consumption.

Detention

12 (1) An inspector may place under detention eggs or containers that do not comply with the Act or this regulation by attaching to at least one container of the lot a numbered tag, hereinafter referred to as a "detention tag", on which shall be clearly written

(a) the words "Under Detention — Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Province of British Columbia",

(b) a detention number given by the inspector,

(c) a brief description of the lot being detained,

(d) the reason for detention,

(e) the date of detention, and

(f) the inspector's signature.

(2) Where the eggs are not in a container, an inspector may require the owner to place the eggs in a container and the container shall be marked in accordance with subsection (1).

(3) Immediately after attaching the detention tag the inspector shall deliver or mail to the owner of the eggs or egg product or his agent a notice of detention and, where the eggs or egg product are on premises other than that of the owner, a copy of the notice of detention shall also be delivered or mailed to the person on whose premises the eggs or egg product are located.

(4) An inspector may make such orders and give such directions as he considers necessary for the proper preservation and safeguarding of eggs or egg product on which a detention tag has been placed and a person to whom such an order is made or direction given shall comply with its terms.

(5) Except as authorized by an inspector, no person shall alter or remove a detention tag placed on a container by an inspector.

(6) Except as authorized in writing by an inspector, no person shall remove, sell, or otherwise dispose of any eggs or egg product contained in a lot on which a detention tag has been placed by an inspector.

(7) Where an inspector is satisfied that eggs or egg product held under detention comply with this regulation, he shall complete a notice of release.

(8) The inspector shall deliver or mail a copy of the notice of release to the owner of the eggs or egg product and a copy to the person on whose premises the eggs or egg product are located.

Offence

13 A person who contravenes section 2 (3), 3 (1) to (4) and (6), 4 (1) to (3), 6 (1) and (4), 8, 9 (1), 10 (2) to (4), 11 (1), (4), (7), (10) and (11) or 12 (4) and (5) commits an offence.

Schedule A

Licence Fees

[am. B.C. Regs. 263/85, s. 4; 140/88; 481/90.]

[Provisions of the Agricultural Produce Grading Act, RSBC 1996 , c. 11, relevant to the enactment of this regulation: section 14]

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