Sask. vendors say food safety amendments will mean no more fresh eggs at farmers' markets

Sarah Onyango · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 25, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Saskatchewan farmers accidental they are disquieted that amendments to the province's Food Safety Regulations volition halt the merchantability of ovum astatine farmers' markets.

The state precocious projected amendments to the province's Food Safety Regulations, including immoderate clarification of connection around what is considered ineligible for merchantability successful what setting.

Of peculiar interest is rules astir workplace eggs.

"To beryllium considered ineligible for merchantability astatine farmer's and nationalist markets, eggs indispensable person been washed, graded, stay full and uncracked, and beryllium held astatine a somesthesia of four-degrees Celsius. Labels connected packaging indispensable bespeak they person been inspected," a connection from the provincial authorities read.

The state said this is not a caller rule. 

"The projected amendments to The Food Safety Regulations are intended to clarify existent authorities and bash not alteration existent requirements with respect to the merchantability of eggs astatine Farmer's and Public Markets," the connection said.

Holly Laird, enforcement manager of the Regina Farmers' Market (RFM), said ungraded eggs person been sold astatine the marketplace for decades.

"The assertion that ungraded eggs person ne'er been permitted for merchantability astatine farmers' markets is inaccurate." Laird said.

She said the marketplace works intimately with inspectors from the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and they person not prevented eggs from being sold successful the past.

"SHA regularly inspects our vendors, including those selling eggs," Laird said. "Vendors are required to statement their washed eggs with the harvest day and support them refrigerated/on crystal astatine the farmers' market."

Laird said they've been told the amendments would prohibit ovum sales.

"Our nationalist wellness inspector has indicated that if the caller regulations proceed arsenic proposed, they volition nary longer beryllium capable to licence the merchantability of workplace eggs astatine our market," she said.

'My customers emotion my eggs'

Pam Miller of Miller By-Gone Farm has been selling her eggs astatine the Regina Farmer's Market for much than a decade. She is disquieted the caller regulations volition drastically trim her lawsuit base.

"My customers emotion my eggs," said Pam Miller of Miller By-Gone Farm, a longtime vendor astatine the Regina Farmers' Market. "My customers emotion the information that they tin speech straight to the idiosyncratic who produced those eggs, truthful it gives them one-on-one relationships with the farmer." 

Miller would inactive beryllium capable to merchantability eggs privately, but not astatine markets.

"I'm successful agrarian Saskatchewan truthful I tin merchantability from my farm, but the magnitude of customers that volition travel retired to my workplace is rather tiny compared to each of the customers I tin scope successful the city."

Barriers for section producers

Laird said she feels that the amendments volition lone negatively impact section producers. 

"These caller regulations don't look to beryllium related to information to us," said Laird. "It's much of conscionable a alteration successful the explanation that's making it harder for section producers to sell." 

The Regina's Farmers' Market presently has a connection retired successful effect to these amendments and is urging the nationalist to capable retired an online survey connected the Ministry of Health's website to person their voices heard.

The survey is unfastened until April 2.