Article 2 Quality characteristics of eggs
United Kingdom
Class A eggs shall have the following quality characteristics:
shell and cuticle: normal shape, clean and undamaged;
air space: height not exceeding 6 mm, stationary; however, for eggs to be marketed as ‘extra’, it may not exceed 4 mm;
yolk: visible on candling as a shadow only, without clearly discernible outline, slightly mobile upon turning the egg, and returning to a central position;
white: clear, translucent;
germ: imperceptible development;
foreign matter: not permissible;
foreign smell: not permissible.
Class A eggs shall not be washed or cleaned, before or after grading F1....
Class A eggs shall not be treated for preservation or chilled in premises or plants where the temperature is artificially maintained at less than 5 °C. However, eggs which have been kept at a temperature below 5 °C during transport for not more than 24 hours or on retail premises or in annexes thereto for not more than 72 hours shall not be considered as chilled.
Class B eggs shall be eggs which do not meet the quality characteristics provided for in paragraph 1. Class A eggs which no longer have those characteristics may be downgraded to Class B.