Agricultural Produce Grading Act

EGG PRODUCT REGULATION

[includes amendments up to B.C. Reg. 479/90]

Interpretation

1 In this regulation:

"Act" means the Agricultural Produce Grading Act;

"dried egg" means whole egg, egg yolk or egg albumen in dried form;

"egg" means an egg

(a) of the domestic hen belonging to the species Gallus domesticus, or

(b) of the domestic turkey belonging to the species Meleagris gallopavo,

but does not include an egg whether wholly or partly formed that has been removed from a slaughtered bird;

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

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

"for further processing", in respect of egg product, means to subject egg product to

(a) sufficient heat treatment to destroy viable Salmonella bacteria, or

(b) any other treatment approved by the minister;

"frozen egg" means whole egg, egg yolk or egg white in frozen form;

"inedible egg" means an egg that is not suitable for human consumption and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes a shell egg that

(a) is contaminated with an odour not associated with a normal egg,

(b) is musty or mouldy,

(c) has been in an incubator, or

(d) has black rot, blood clot, blood ring, bloody egg, mixed or red rot, sour rot, spot rot or white rot;

"inedible egg product" means egg product that contains any inedible egg or that is otherwise not suitable for human consumption;

"liquid egg" means whole egg, egg yolk or egg white in liquid or semi-liquid form;

"mix" means whole egg mix or yolk mix;

"operator" means a person who is in charge of operations at an egg product station and includes the owner of the egg product station;

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

"retailer" means a person who offers, has in possession for sale or sells egg product to a consumer;

"wholesaler" means a person who sells egg product to anyone for resale or to a restaurant, hospital, hotel, boarding house, bakery, logging, mining or construction camp or to a transportation or other organization for its use or their use in baking or cooking for serving inmates, guests, patrons or employees.

Application of regulation

2 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), all egg product sold, offered for sale, held in possession for sale, shipped or transported in the Province shall be graded, packed and marked in accordance with the Canada Agricultural Products Act and the regulations under it.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to egg product shipped to an egg product station from the premises of another egg product station for further processing and marked with the words "for further processing".

(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to egg product marked with the name of a foreign country and the name of a grade of that foreign country provided that the egg product meets the requirement for the Canada grade equivalent to the grade marked on the egg product.

(4) No operator of an egg product station shall purchase, sell, offer for sale, have in his possession for sale, ship or transport inedible egg product unless the containers in which the inedible egg product is packed are marked conspicuously and legibly with the words "Not for Human Consumption".

Licensing

3 (1) Every person engaged in the production of egg product shall have a valid and subsisting licence from the minister.

(2) An application for a licence or renewal of a licence to produce egg product shall be accompanied by the fee provided in Schedule A.

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

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

(5) No person other than the licensee shall use the number of the licence on a container containing egg product.

Branch licences

4 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.

Licences for the sale and purchase of inedible egg product

5 (1) No person shall sell or offer for sale and no person shall purchase inedible egg product without a valid licence as required by the minister.

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

(3) A licence to sell inedible egg product 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) Subject to subsection (9) (b), no person shall sell inedible egg product to another person unless that other person holds a licence to purchase inedible egg product.

(5) The licence number of the purchaser shall be clearly and legibly written on all invoices covering sales of inedible egg product.

(6) The holder of a licence to sell inedible egg product shall

(a) keep a record of the sale of all inedible egg product showing

(i) the name and address of the purchaser of each lot of inedible egg product sold,

(ii) the quantity 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.

(7) A container that contains inedible egg product shall be marked as follows:

(a) on one line in letters not less than 12 mm in height, the words "Inedible Egg Product";

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

(8) The markings referred to in subsection (7) 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.

(9) No person shall purchase or otherwise obtain inedible egg product

(a) for resale, or

(b) in an amount exceeding 10 kg in any one calendar month, without a licence from the minister.

(10) An application for a licence to purchase inedible egg product shall be accompanied by the fee provided in Schedule A.

(11) A licence to purchase inedible egg product

(a) is not transferable, and

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

(12) The holder of a licence to purchase inedible egg product shall furnish, on or before the 15th day of each month, a statement to the District Supervisor, Poultry Division, Canada Department of Agriculture showing

(a) the quantity of inedible egg product purchased or otherwise obtained during the previous calendar month,

(b) the names and addresses of the persons from whom the inedible egg product was purchased or otherwise obtained, and the dates of purchasing or otherwise obtaining the inedible egg product, and

(c) the purpose for which the inedible egg product was purchased or otherwise obtained.

(13) No person shall purchase or sell or offer for sale inedible egg product for use as food, or in the preparation of food, for human consumption.

Advertising

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

(2) No person shall publish an untrue, deceptive or misleading advertisement or statement with respect to egg product 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 egg product for sale, state or use words or phrases implying that the egg product of the grade advertised is superior in condition or quality to that required for egg product of that grade.

Detention

7 (1) An inspector may place under detention egg product 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) Immediately after attaching the detention tag the inspector shall deliver or mail to the owner of the egg product or his agent a notice of detention and, where the egg product is 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 egg product is located.

(3) An inspector may make such orders and give such directions as he considers necessary for the proper preservation and safeguarding of 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.

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

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

(6) Where an inspector is satisfied that the egg product held under detention complies with this regulation, he shall complete a notice of release.

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

Offence

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

Schedule A

Licence Fees

[am. B.C. Regs. 139/88; 479/90.]

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

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