Egg Grading

Quality Assurance & Certifications

At Star Egg, we tend to all food safety protocols and processes to guarantee our eggs are the highest quality. The Egg Quality Assurance (EQA) program is an industry-wide initiative that certifies Canadian eggs are produced according to strict food safety and animal welfare standards.

Our grading facility is federally inspected by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). We are certified against the British Retail Consortium (BRC) food standards, a GFSI-recognized certification programme and follow CFIA Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles for safe food handling.

Star Egg is a Certified Organic grading station, certified by Pro-Cert. Our Certified Organic products have undergone a strict certification process to make sure they meet Canadian Organic Standards, which are regulated by CFIA.

Traceability & Storage

All eggs that are received at Star Egg have a bar code label containing the name of the producer, type of eggs and the date they were laid. We use an inventory system called Ovotrack which involves scanning the eggs at the time of arrival and again at the time of grading. This allows us to keep a database with all relevant information related to the eggs that we distribute.

After eggs are received, they are stored in a cooler allocated for ungraded eggs. The humidity level is maintained below 85% and the temperature kept at a constant range of 10 – 13˚C, the optimum humidity and temperatures for maintaining egg freshness.

The Grading Process

Egg grading involves cleaning, sanitizing, sorting and packaging eggs to prepare them for the grocery store. To see how the Egg Grading Process works, click here.

The Grading Process

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Grading

Ungraded cases of eggs are loaded onto an automated loading system that breaks down the cases into layers. The eggs are picked up by vacuum powered suction cups and loaded onto rollers which take them through the grading process.

Eggs are graded by quality. The ones you buy at the grocery store are Grade A (cleanest, with no stains or cracks, the smoothest surface and most uniform shape).
Washing

The eggs are rinsed with a high-pressure chlorine based sanitizer that maintains a PH of 11 and wash water temperature of 115˚C. They then go through a series of brushes that scrub the shells clean. Next, they are rinsed with fresh, warm water and finally warm air is blown on the eggs to dry them off.
Inspecting

Following the washing process, eggs are taken though a series of cameras which inspect the exterior shells for any eggs that may not have come clean during the washing process. They then pass over a series of sensors that measure the strength of the egg shell and can tell if there is any crack in the shell. The eggs with cracks or stains on the shell are identified and separated from the clean ones.
Weighing

All eggs roll over one of the scales that weigh each egg to the nearest 10th of a gram. The weight allows us to determine the egg size based on Canadian Egg Regulation Sizing Standards. The following table outlines the minimum weights for each size:

CANADA GRADE A EGG SIZE MINIMUM WEIGHT

JUMBO SIZE 70 g

EXTRA LARGE SIZE 63 g

LARGE SIZE 56 g

MEDIUM SIZE 49 g

SMALL SIZE 42 g

PEEWEE SIZE Below 42 Grams
Candling

Each egg undergoes an automatic candling process which involves flashing an intense light through the egg shell. A sensor receives the light on the other side and is able to filter out any imperfections such as blood spots. Any eggs with these imperfections are removed and used for other purposes, such as processing.
Transfer

Each egg is allocated to one of 20 packers, based on size, brand and packaging.
Packing

There’s a wide array of packaging for eggs, including pulp (generally from recycled newsprint), Styrofoam or plastic. The type of packaging selected depends on factors such as cost, availability and the type of product.

Styrofoam is a good source packaging material for its ability to withstand humid climates and machinability. There is less waste with this material and less carbon is used in the transport of these cartons to egg packing stations because of its lightweight properties. To many people’s surprise, Styrofoam is actually recyclable with companies that find post consumer uses for the material. Plastic is often used to showcase specialty eggs. It is the most expensive type of packaging but is now available in recycled PET material.

Each carton is stamped with a best before date of 45 days after the day on which the eggs were graded. The graded eggs are then stored in another cooler where the temperature is kept below 10˚C.

CANADA GRADE A EGG SIZE	MINIMUM WEIGHT
JUMBO SIZE	70 g
EXTRA LARGE SIZE	63 g
LARGE SIZE	56 g
MEDIUM SIZE	49 g
SMALL SIZE	42 g
PEEWEE SIZE	Below 42 Grams

From Star Egg to a
grocery store near you

Within 3-5 days of leaving the farm, the eggs are shipped to a grocery store in refrigerated trucks ready for purchase.

Enjoy fresh eggs every day! Find egg recipes on the Egg Farmers of Canada website.

View Egg Farmers of Canada's website

Quality Assurance & Certifications

Traceability & Storage

The Grading Process

Grading

Washing

Inspecting

Weighing

Candling

Transfer

Packing

From Star Egg to a grocery store near you

From Star Egg to a
grocery store near you