Quality & Food Safety
- All eggs arrive from USDA farm hens which are fed diets that include no hormones, no antibiotics and no animal by-products. NPE uses only Grade AA eggs.
- Animal welfare is maintained at or above the standards of the United Egg Producers Animal Husbandry Guidelines.
- To ensure food safety, the NPE process starts with the arrival of clean farm-fresh eggs on sanitized plastic flats from our pre-approved USDA certified and inspected farms.
- Our patented pasteurization system uses clean, warm water.
- Eggs are pasteurized to exceed a 5 log reduction of harmful bacteria or viruses without cooking the eggs. The 5 log reduction is the regulated standard set by the FDA required for a product to be labeled pasteurized. The NPE patented process ensures eggs meet and exceed this 5 log FDA requirement without cooking the egg.
- After pasteurization, eggs move on automated carriers where they receive an optical check that identifies and removes all damaged or cracked eggs.
- The eggs then are conveyed out of the bath and through an automatic waxing unit which applies a food grade wax protection over the shell. This wax acts as an additional seal to protect the egg from absorption of any cross contaminants that otherwise could pass through the shells thousands of open pores, further ensuring food safety.
- Next, the eggs receive a red Circle P stamp identifying them as pasteurized.
- This finished product is then packed, moved to coolers brought to below 45 °F and palletized for shipment.
- The facility and production are managed under controlled HACCP procedures adhering to defined SOP’s, GMP’s and Circle U Kosher approval standards. The facility and process are inspected and certified by USDA and Silliker Labs and approved by the FDA.
- The total pasteurization process described above results in destroying all bacteria and viruses inside and outside the shell, preserving freshness, taste and significantly extending the shelf life of our eggs.