Inspection of Eggs
Animal Health is responsible for the enforcement of Egg Marketing legislation at all points of the marketing chain up to, but excluding, retail level, although occasional visits to retail premises are made to verify Special Marketing Terms.
We work throughout England and Wales, wherever eggs are produced, graded, packed, imported, exported, bought or sold.
Location of Egg Marketing Inspectorate Administrative Centres
The Scottish Executive has their own Eggs and Poultry Unit
Please forward any application(s) or paperwork to the appropriate Egg Marketing Inspectorate Administrative Centre shown below. If you have any queries, please address these to the relevant Administrative Centre.
If your premise is in the counties listed below your Administrative Centre is: Egg Marketing Inspectorate – Animal Health, Fourth Floor, Quantock House, Paul Street, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 3NX. Telephone: (01823) 337922
Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, East & West Sussex, Essex, Greater London, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Isles of Scilly, Isle of Wight, Kent, Middlesex, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Suffolk, Surrey, Wiltshire.
If your premise is in the counties listed below your Administrative Centre is: Egg Marketing Inspectorate – Animal Health, Government Buildings, Otley Road, Lawnswood, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS16 5PZ. Telephone: (0113) 2300100
Cheshire, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Durham, East Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Herefordshire, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Merseyside, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, Shropshire, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Teeside, Tyne & Wear, Warwickshire, West Midlands, West Yorkshire, Worcestershire.
Applicants in Wales should contact the Food Policy and Strategy Unit, FFMDD, Welsh Assembly Government, Y Lanfa, Trefechan, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 1AS. Tel: (01970) 613222.
Powers of Entry
Inspectors have the authority to enter at all reasonable times and carry out inspections in registered or unregistered premises (including wholesale outlets, places of import and, when requested, retail outlets) in which any activity regulated by the Community provision is being, or is reasonably suspected of being undertaken (Regulation 5 of the Eggs (Marketing Standards) Regulations 1995 refers). Each inspector is issued with a warrant showing such authority which also permits the inspector to take samples of eggs/labels/packs/records as evidence of contraventions which may lead to further investigation and prosecution.
Prosecution
Serious breaches or apparent breaches of the regulations are reported to the Investigation Branch of Defra whose officers have long experience of police work and a sound knowledge of Judges Rules regarding the issuing of cautions and taking statements. Prosecutions which may arise are heard in Magistrates' Courts where fines can be imposed up to a maximum of £5,000 per offence.