---
kind: "section"
citation: "21 C.F.R. § 118.6"
title: "21"
number: "118.6"
heading: "Egg testing for Salmonella Enteritidis (SE)."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/21/118.6"
---

# §118.6. Egg testing for Salmonella Enteritidis (SE).

- (a)
  - (1) If the environmental test for pullets at 14 to 16 weeks of age required by [§ 118.4(a)](/cfr/21/118.4.md?p=a) is positive, you must divert eggs to treatment (defined in [§ 118.3](/cfr/21/118.3.md)) for the life of any flock or conduct egg testing within 2 weeks of the start of egg laying, as specified in [paragraphs (b) through (e)](#b..e) of this section.
  - (2) If you have an SE-positive environmental test at any time during the life of a flock, you must divert eggs to treatment (defined in [§ 118.3](/cfr/21/118.3.md)) for the life of the flock in that positive poultry house or conduct egg testing as specified in [paragraphs (b) through (e)](#b..e) of this section.
- (b) Eggs must be sampled as described in [§ 118.7](/cfr/21/118.7.md) and tested using methodology as described in [§ 118.8](/cfr/21/118.8.md).
- (c) You must conduct four egg tests, using sampling and methodology in §§ [118.7](/cfr/21/118.7.md) and [118.8](/cfr/21/118.8.md), on the flock in the positive poultry house at 2-week intervals. If all four tests are negative for SE, you are not required to do further egg testing.
- (d) If any of the four egg tests is positive for SE, you must divert, upon receiving notification of an SE-positive egg test, all eggs from that flock to treatment (defined in [§ 118.3](/cfr/21/118.3.md)) until the conditions of [paragraph (c)](#c) of this section are met.
- (e) If you have a positive egg test in a flock and divert eggs from that flock and later meet the negative test result requirements described in [paragraph (c)](#c) of this section and return to table egg production, you must conduct one egg test per month on that flock, using sampling and methodology in §§ [118.7](/cfr/21/118.7.md) and [118.8](/cfr/21/118.8.md), for the life of the flock.
  - (1) If all the monthly egg tests in [paragraph (e)](#e) of this section are negative for SE, you may continue to supply eggs to the table market.
  - (2) If any of the monthly egg tests in [paragraph (e)](#e) of this section is positive for SE, you must divert eggs from the positive flock to treatment for the life of the flock or until the conditions of [paragraph (c)](#c) of this section are met.
- (f) If you are diverting eggs, the pallet, case, or other shipping container must be labeled and all documents accompanying the shipment must contain the following statement: “Federal law requires that these eggs must be treated to achieve at least a 5-log destruction of Salmonella Enteritidis or processed as egg products in accordance with the Egg Products Inspection Act, [21 CFR 118.6(f)](#f).” The statement must be legible and conspicuous.

## Notes

### Authority

Authority: 21 U.S.C. 321, 331-334, 342, 371, 381, 393; 42 U.S.C. 243, 264, 271.

### Source

Source: 74 FR 33095, July 9, 2009, unless otherwise noted.