Federal and state officials announced a new initiative called the Egg Regulatory Program Standards (ERPS) that will give state agencies the ability “to integrate the regulatory activities of partner agencies into an efficient and effective process for improving egg and egg product safety in the U.S.”

ERPS does not create any new regulations on the egg industry itself. Rather, it sets up standards and benchmarks for the design of state egg regulatory programs. The initiative was announced by FDA and the National Egg Regulatory Officials (NERO).

California and Iowa are the first two states to enroll in the ERPS.

ERPS has 10 areas of focus:

• Standard 1   - Regulatory Foundation
• Standard 2   - Training Program
• Standard 3   - Inspection Program
• Standard 4   - Inspection Audit Program
• Standard 5   - Egg-related Illness, Outbreak and Emergency Response
• Standard 6   - Compliance and Enforcement Program
• Standard 7   - Outreach Activities
• Standard 8   - Program Resources
• Standard 9   - Program Assessment
• Standard 10 - Laboratory Support

Click here to view and download the standards.