NAC583.141. Standards of quality for shell eggs of domesticated chickens.

Shell eggs of domesticated chickens, except eggs which have been removed from incubation after partial development, must be classified according to the following standards of quality:

     1. AA quality: The shell must be clean, unbroken and practically normal. The air cell must not exceed one-eighth of an inch in depth, measured at destination, and may show unlimited movement and be free or bubbly. The white must be clear and firm. The yolk must be practically free from apparent defects.

     2. A quality: The shell must be clean, unbroken and practically normal. The air cell must not exceed three-sixteenths of an inch in depth, measured at destination, and may show unlimited movement and be free or bubbly. The white must be clear and at least reasonably firm. The yolk must be practically free from apparent defects.

     3. B quality:

     (a) The shell must be unbroken, may be abnormal and show slight stains, but it may not have adhering dirt.

     (b) When a stain is localized, approximately one thirty-second of the surface of the shell may be moderately stained. When the moderately stained areas are scattered, approximately one-sixteenth of the surface of the shell may be moderately stained.

     (c) The air cell may show unlimited movement and may be free or bubbly, but must not exceed three-eighths of an inch in depth, measured at destination.

     (d) The white may be weak and watery.

     (e) The yolk may appear dark, enlarged and flattened. It may show clearly visible germ development but may not show the presence of blood due to that development. Small blood clots or meat spots which, in the aggregate, are not more than one-eighth of an inch in diameter may be present.

     4. Check quality: The shell is broken or cracked but the membranes of the shell must be intact and the contents of the shell must not leak. A checked egg is of lower quality than a dirty one.

     [St. Quarantine Officer, No. 83.02, eff. 3-1-58; A 4-1-72]—(NAC A 9-7-82; 11-7-84; 10-17-86)