SQF Certification for Eggs & Egg Products

Shell egg grading, washing and packing plants and egg products processors use the SQF Food Safety Code: Food Manufacturing under Food Sector Category (FSC) 12, Egg Processing, so one certificate can cover both shell eggs and egg products. Laying farms use the SQF Food Safety Code: Primary Animal Production under FSC 1, which lists egg production. Ultra-high-temperature (UHT) treated egg products (FSC 15) and mixed products made with eggs, such as mayonnaise, baked goods or breakfast meals, fall under other categories, so your certification body confirms the scope.

The grading, cleaning, processing, transport and on-site storage of eggs from all species used for egg collection and processing. SQFI's Edition 9 examples are "graded, cleaned eggs and value-added products where egg is the major ingredient," and Edition 10 names liquid eggs, powdered eggs, egg substitutes and pre-cooked eggs. FSC 12 uses the SQF Food Safety Code: Food Manufacturing and Module 11, Good Manufacturing Practices.

Yes. Egg production farms use the SQF Food Safety Code: Primary Animal Production under FSC 1, with Module 5, Good Production Practices for Farming of Animals, and Edition 10 adds egg hatching to FSC 1. SQFI's annual site fee is $250 for that code, capped at $800 for two or more codes. A farm that also washes, grades and packs its own eggs may need both codes, so your certification body confirms the scope.

Both, depending on the product. FDA regulates shell eggs, including the Egg Safety Rule for laying farms, and most egg foods that aren't egg products, such as hard-cooked eggs. USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) registers shell egg handlers and inspects packers at least once each calendar quarter. USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) continuously inspects plants that make egg products, meaning dried, frozen or liquid eggs, including egg substitutes and freeze-dried egg products. Egg dishes made with meat or poultry, such as a frozen breakfast meal with sausage, can fall under FSIS meat and poultry inspection instead, depending on how much meat or poultry they contain.

FDA's Egg Safety Rule (21 CFR Part 118) requires producers with 3,000 or more laying hens at a farm that don't sell all their eggs directly to consumers to follow a written Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) prevention plan for each farm, covering pullets, biosecurity, pest control, cleaning and disinfection, and refrigeration. It also requires environmental testing of each poultry house when its hens are 40 to 45 weeks old, egg testing or diversion to treatment after a positive result, records, and FDA registration within 30 days of becoming an egg producer. SQF doesn't replace it: clause 2.4.1 requires you to comply, and egg plants approve laying-farm suppliers under 2.3.4.

Under FDA's Egg Safety Rule, shell eggs from farms with 3,000 or more laying hens are held and transported at or below 45°F ambient temperature beginning 36 hours after laying, including by anyone who transports or holds those eggs for shell egg processing or egg products plants (21 CFR 118.1(b) and 118.4(e)). USDA requires shell eggs packed for consumers to be stored and transported at an ambient 45°F or below (9 CFR 590.50; producer-packers with 3,000 or fewer layers are exempt), and retailers store and display shell eggs at an ambient 45°F or below (21 CFR 115.50). In an SQF audit, clause 11.6.2 adds cooler capacity, temperature monitoring at the warmest part of each room, and temperature records.

Yes, or another treatment that meets the same standard. Egg products must be processed to meet 9 CFR 590.570, which requires pasteurized egg products to be "produced to be edible without additional preparation to achieve food safety" (590.504(d)). Unpasteurized egg products can't be released into consumer channels until they're pasteurized or treated (590.415) and may be shipped only to another FSIS-inspected plant for that treatment (590.504(d)), and official plants must sample and test pasteurized liquid, frozen and dried egg products for Salmonella (590.580). Egg products plants operate under continuous FSIS inspection, with Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (Sanitation SOPs) required since October 29, 2021 and HACCP plans since October 31, 2022. In an SQF audit, where pasteurization is a critical control point in your HACCP plan, its critical limits must be validated (2.4.3.11).

FDA. Cooked egg products are exempted from the definition of "egg product" under the Egg Products Inspection Act (9 CFR 590.5), and in its 2020 rule moving egg substitutes to its jurisdiction, FSIS said hard-cooked eggs don't fit the definition of "egg product" because "they are not dried, frozen, or liquid eggs." Because they're ready-to-eat and handled after cooking, an SQF audit looks hard at high-risk area controls (11.7.1) and environmental monitoring for Listeria (2.4.8).

Water that meets potable standards when it's used for washing food (11.5.3.1), effective and monitored water treatment, with water treatment chemical residues kept within acceptable limits (11.5.2), and microbiological analysis of the water supply at least once a year (11.5.3.2). The auditor also checks how cracked, dirty and leaking eggs are handled, and how wash chemicals are approved, stored and used.

To shell eggs, yes. Shell eggs and products (fresh or frozen) that contain raw, unpasteurized eggs are on FDA's Food Traceability List. Producers with fewer than 3,000 laying hens at a farm are exempt, as are shell eggs when all eggs from the farm are treated, and egg products under exclusive USDA jurisdiction. Congress directed FDA not to enforce the rule before July 20, 2028. SQF's traceability clauses (2.6) apply to every product in your scope.

Yes. Egg is one of the major food allergens under U.S. law (21 U.S.C. 321(qq)), and FDA's 2025 guidance treats eggs from domesticated chickens, ducks, geese, quail and other fowl as eggs. SQF's Allergen Management clause (2.8.1) is mandatory, so plants that also run egg-free products need changeover procedures, validated cleaning and label controls (2.8.1.9).

No. SQF certification is voluntary and sits on top of FDA and USDA requirements: clause 2.4.1 requires you to meet the food law that applies to you. FDA-registered facilities still renew their registration every other year between October 1 and December 31 of each even-numbered year, including 2026, and egg products plants stay under continuous FSIS inspection.

No. SQF certification is voluntary. The legal requirements are FDA's Egg Safety Rule, refrigeration and labeling rules, USDA shell egg surveillance, and USDA egg products inspection, depending on what you make. A retailer, foodservice company or brand owner may still ask its suppliers for GFSI-recognized certification such as SQF.

Yes. SQFI maps FSC 12, Egg Processing, to GFSI scope CI, Processing of Perishable Animal Products, and FSC 1 to GFSI scope AI, Farming of Animals for Meat / Milk / Eggs / Honey. Check which scope your customer requires.

Several, listed here A to Z. For egg processing (GFSI scope CI, processing of perishable animal products), GFSI recognizes BRCGS Food Safety, FSSC 22000, IFS Food and SQF, among others. Each customer decides which programs it accepts, and SQF is more common in the U.S. BRCGS Food Safety, FSSC 22000 (Version 6) and IFS Food certificates are issued by Kiwa group certification bodies, not by Kiwa ASI; ask us, and we'll check auditor coverage for your products before quoting. Each program's own scope rules decide whether your products are covered.

Yes, for the SQF Food Safety Codes: Food Manufacturing and Primary Animal Production, Edition 9. ASI Food Safety, LLC (Kiwa ASI) is licensed by SQFI and accredited by ANAB (accreditation ID 1222) to ISO/IEC 17065 for those codes. SQFI places FSC 12 under the Food Manufacturing code and FSC 1 under the Primary Animal Production code, and ANAB's listing names codes, not food sector categories. SQF rules require an auditor registered with SQFI for your food sector category, or a registered auditor assisted by an SQFI-approved technical expert, and we confirm how your audit meets that rule when we scope it.

Every 12 months. Recertification audits fall within 30 days either side of the anniversary of the last day of your initial certification audit. Sites rated C – Complies (70–85) under Edition 9 also get a surveillance audit at six months, and at least one recertification audit every three years is unannounced and fully on-site.

Edition 9, for now. SQF audits use Edition 9 until Edition 10 audits begin, which SQFI says will be no earlier than January 2, 2027, depending on GFSI benchmarking. GFSI opened its public consultation on Edition 10 on September 29, 2026. A single audit won't mix requirements from both editions, and a surveillance audit that follows an Edition 9 audit stays on Edition 9, even if it falls after Edition 10 audits begin. Kiwa ASI's ANAB accreditation currently covers specific SQF Edition 9 codes, so ask which edition your first audit will use, and about our Edition 10 status, when you request a quote.

Yes, if we can meet SQF's auditor registration rule for your food sector categories, which we check before we quote. Under Edition 9, you can change to another SQFI-licensed certification body after one certification cycle (the annual period between certification audits), once all non-conformances are closed, as long as the certificate isn't suspended or under threat of suspension or withdrawal. If a surveillance audit is due, change after it. Your certification number, recertification date and unannounced audit schedule carry over, and your current certificate stays valid until it expires. Once Edition 10 applies (no earlier than January 2, 2027), you can switch after your certificate is issued and before your next audit window opens. Kiwa ASI's ANAB accreditation currently covers specific SQF Edition 9 codes, so ask us about Edition 10 status before you plan an Edition 10 transfer. Send your current certificate and your last recertification and surveillance audit reports.

Plan on at least four to five months from the day your system starts producing records, and longer if you're building it from scratch. SQFI recommends at least 90 days of records before the certification audit, the audit takes at least two days, non-conformances must be closed within 30 days, and SQF gives the certification body up to 45 days after the audit to make its certification decision. The biggest variables are whether a HACCP plan and environmental monitoring program already exist.

First-year cost can range from about $6,000 for a small, well-prepared site to $25,000 or more for a larger plant that needs outside help and upgrades. These are estimates only; your audit fee depends on the audit duration your certification body calculates. The first-year total includes the audit fee (roughly $4,500–$9,000+), SQFI registration ($650 for the Food Manufacturing code or $250 for Primary Animal Production, capped at $800 for two or more codes), training, any outside help and any facility upgrades.

70 out of 100 under Edition 9, with no non-conformances left outstanding. Every audit starts at 100 points; each minor non-conformance deducts 1 point, each major 5 and each critical 50. A score of 70–85 (C – Complies) adds a six-month surveillance audit, and a score below 70 or any critical non-conformance fails an initial audit.

No. Kiwa ASI audits and issues SQF certificates; it doesn't provide laboratory testing. SQF requires external testing to be done by laboratories accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 or an equivalent standard (2.4.4.2). The auditor reviews your results, such as Salmonella environmental and product tests, pasteurization verification and wash-water tests, as part of the audit.