Public Act 099-0732
 
HB6287 EnrolledLRB099 16919 MJP 41266 b

    AN ACT concerning health.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Egg and Egg Products Act is amended
by adding Section 3.21a and by changing Sections 6 and 15 as
follows:
 
    (410 ILCS 615/3.21a new)
    Sec. 3.21a. "Lot consolidation" means the removal of
damaged eggs from consumer labeled cartons and replacement of
the damaged eggs with eggs of the same grade, size, sell-by
date, brand, lot, and source.
 
    (410 ILCS 615/6)  (from Ch. 56 1/2, par. 55-6)
    Sec. 6. Candling; labeling; sales by producers; retail
sales; temperature requirements. All eggs sold at retail or
purchased by institutional consumers must be candled for
quality and graded for size.
    A producer may sell on his own premises where eggs are
produced, direct to household consumers, for the consumer's
personal use and that consumer's non-paying guests, nest run
eggs without candling or grading those eggs.
    All eggs designated for sale off the premises where the
entire flock is located, such as at farmers' markets, and at
retail or for institutional use must be candled and graded and
held in a place or room in which the temperature may not exceed
45 degrees Fahrenheit after processing. Nest run eggs shall be
held at 60 degrees Fahrenheit or less at all times. During
transportation, the egg temperature may not exceed 45 degrees
Fahrenheit.
    Hatcheries buying eggs for hatching purposes from
producers under contract may sell their surplus eggs to a
licensed packer or handler provided that the hatchery shall
keep records which indicate the number of cases sold, the date
of sale and the name and address of the packer or handler
making the purchase.
    All eggs candled or candled and graded outside the State
must meet Federal standards before they can be sold or offered
for sale in the State. No eggs may be offered for sale for
consumer use 45 days or more after the date of candling after
the original 30-day candling date.
    Each container of eggs offered for sale or sold at
wholesale or retail must be labeled in accordance with the
standards established by the Department showing grade, size,
packer identification, and candling date, and must be labeled
with an expiration date, or other similar language as specified
by USDA standards, that is not later than 45 30 days from the
candling date for grade A eggs and not later than 30 15 days
after the candling date for grade AA eggs.
    The grade and size of eggs must be conspicuously marked in
bold face type on all consumer-size containers.
    The size and height of lettering or numbering requirement
shall be set by regulation and shall conform as near as
possible to those required by Federal law.
    All advertising of shell eggs for sale at retail for a
stated price shall contain the grade and size of the eggs. The
information contained in such advertising shall not be
misleading or deceptive. In cases of food-borne disease
outbreaks in which eggs are identified as the source of the
disease, all eggs from the flocks from which those
disease-causing eggs came shall be identified with a producer
identification or flock code number to control the movement of
those eggs.
(Source: P.A. 96-1310, eff. 7-27-10.)
 
    (410 ILCS 615/15)  (from Ch. 56 1/2, par. 55-15)
    Sec. 15. Samples; packing methods.
    (a) The Department shall prescribe methods in conformity
with the United States Department of Agriculture
specifications for selecting samples of lots, cases or
containers of eggs or egg products which shall be reasonably
calculated to produce fair representations of the entire lots
or cases and containers sampled. Any sample taken shall be
prima facie evidence in any court in this State of the true
condition of the entire lot, case or container of eggs or egg
products in the examination of which the sample was taken.
    It shall be unlawful for any handler or retailer to pack
eggs into consumer-size containers other than during the
original candling and grading operations unless the retailer
performs a lot consolidation. :
    (b) A retailer that wishes to consolidate eggs shall
implement and administer a training program for employees that
will perform the consolidation as part of their duties. The
program shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
        (1) Laws governing egg lot consolidation:
            (A) same lot code;
            (B) same source;
            (C) same sell-by date;
            (D) same grade;
            (E) same size;
            (F) same brand;
        (2) temperature requirements;
        (3) egg is a hazardous food (FDA Guidelines);
        (4) sanitation;
        (5) egg quality (USDA guidelines);
        (6) original packaging requirements (replacement
    cartons shall not be utilized); and
        (7) record keeping requirements.
    (c) Training shall be conducted annually and may be
conducted by any means available, including, but not limited
to, online, computer, classroom, live trainers, and remote
trainers.
    (d) A copy of the training material must be made available
upon request from the Department. A copy of the training
material may be kept electronically.
    (e) Eggs shall be consolidated in a manner consistent with
training materials required by subsection (b).
    (f) Each store shall maintain a record of each egg carton
consolidated. The records shall be maintained by the store at
the physical location the eggs were consolidated at for a
period not less than one year past the last sell-by date on the
cartons consolidated. The records must be available for
inspection upon request from the Department. The records may be
kept electronically.
    Each lot consolidation shall be documented. The
information documented shall include, but not be limited to,
the following:
        (1) date of consolidation;
        (2) brand;
        (3) egg size;
        (4) distributor;
        (5) USDA plant number;
        (6) grade; and
        (7) best-by (sell-by/use-by) date.
    (g) An Illinois-based egg producer or Illinois-based egg
producer-dealer may prohibit its brands from being included in
an egg lot consolidation program. Any Illinois-based egg
producer or Illinois-based egg producer-dealer that chooses to
prohibit its brands from being included in an egg lot
consolidation program shall notify a retailer in writing before
entering into an agreement to distribute its eggs to the
retailer. Producers or producer-dealers with agreements
entered into prior to the effective date of this Act shall have
90 days after the effective date of this Act to notify
retailers in writing of their choice to prohibit consolidation
of their egg brands.
    Upon notification from an Illinois-based producer or
Illinois-based producer dealer, a retailer shall not
consolidate those brands.
        (a) The loose eggs to be so transferred are in master
    case stamped no more than 5 days previous indicating that
    the size and quality have been verified.
        (b) The process of transferring is done in a licensed
    establishment.
        (c) (Blank).
        (d) The loose eggs to be transferred are reprocessed in
    the same manner as nest-run eggs and each egg is recandled
    for quality and regraded for size in an establishment
    recognized as a competent grading facility by the Director
    or his authorized representative.
        (e) (Blank).
    If procedures described in paragraph (a) or (b) of this
Section are executed, the mandatory labeling as it appears on
the master cases with respect to name, address, grade, size and
candling date must be identical to the labeling on the
consumer-size containers into which the eggs are transferred
except that the name and address may be changed, provided that
the words "packed for", "packed by" or words of similar import
do not appear.
(Source: P.A. 92-677, eff. 7-16-02.)