Over 1.01 Million US Eggs Released... Imported Eggs Identified by Just 5 Digits on Shell

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] On the 26th, about 1.01 million fresh eggs imported from the United States were released into the market. The government announced that imported and domestic eggs can be distinguished by the numbers printed on the eggshell (nangak).

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on the 28th, domestic eggs are marked on the eggshell with a total of 10 characters including numbers and alphabets, which compress information such as the laying date, unique farm number, and rearing environment. However, imported eggs are marked only with a 5-digit number indicating the laying date and rearing environment, without a unique farm number, making it easy to distinguish by the naked eye. In addition, the country of origin is also indicated on the packaging, so imported eggs can be identified by the packaging label.

Earlier, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs conducted a public competitive bidding for 60 tons (about 1.01 million eggs) of imported fresh eggs (U.S. origin) on the 26th, all of which were sold and have been supplied since the 27th. The imported eggs distributed this time meet both the import quarantine conditions under the "U.S. Imported Food Egg Sanitary Conditions" and the import hygiene requirements under the "Special Act on Imported Food Safety Management (MFDS)." The eggs have passed the exporting country's sanitary inspection. In the past, there must have been no outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) for at least three months, and no Newcastle disease within a 10 km radius of the production farm for two months before export. Also, the production farms must participate in the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) managed by the exporting country's government.

The 60 tons of eggs decided for sale this time will be supplied to restaurants, egg processing companies, and retailers. The plan is to import additional quantities necessary for supply stabilization beyond the 60 tons by the end of January and supply them directly to companies.

Furthermore, for processing use, import recommendation certificates have been issued for a total of 35.6 tons since the 27th, when the application of the tariff quota began.

This tariff quota measure will temporarily apply an emergency tariff rate of 0% up to a total limit of 50,000 tons for eight items including eggs until June 30 of this year, and will be flexibly operated considering market conditions. The eight items are fresh eggs, smoked eggs, egg yolk powder, frozen egg yolk, whole egg powder, frozen whole egg, egg white powder, and frozen egg white.