Jeff Hendricks has been selected as the National Shell Egg Supervisor for USDA Agriculture Marketing Services Livestock and Poultry program (AMS L&P).  In this role, Hendricks will lead all policy/regulatory development activities for grading, certification, and verification of shell eggs.

Hendricks has over 20 years of experience having worked in egg and poultry grading and supervisory positions for the Georgia Department of Agriculture. As Assistant National Shell Egg Supervisor, he co-led a project to review sanitation procedures for pre-operation inspections of shell egg processing facilities and played a major role in implementing training for shell egg graders across the country.

Hendricks also worked closely with UEP and other egg industry organizations and academia to advance understanding of a uniform application of shell egg standards. He also engaged manufacturers of egg processing equipment to explore options for utilizing instrument technology to assist the USDA in the assessment of egg quality factors.

During the past five years, Mark Perigen had been filling two roles at AMS L&P, and the transition will allow him to focus entirely on grading and certification programs serving the western states.  “UEP thanks Mark for his exceptional work with the egg industry. We are fortunate to have someone of Jeff’s caliber serving in this important role,” stated Oscar Garrison, UEP’s senior vice president of food safety regulatory affairs.