24.5.2007 Official Journal of the European Union L 132/5 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 557/2007 of 23 May 2007 laying down detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 1028/2006 on marketing standards for eggs THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1028/2006 of 19 June 2006 on marketing standards for eggs ('), and in particular Article 11 thereof, Whereas: (1) (4) Regulation (EC) No 1028/2006 lays down the basic requirements which eggs must satisfy to be marketed in the Community. For the sake of clarity, new detailed rules for the implementation of those requirements should be laid down. Commission Regulation (EC) No 2295/2003 of 23 December 2003 introducing detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1907/90 on certain marketing standards for eggs (%) should therefore be repealed and replaced by a new Regulation. Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs () and Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin (*) apply to eggs. Therefore, reference should be made to the extent possible to those horizontal Regulations. The quality characteristics for Class A eggs should be fixed in order to guarantee the high quality of eggs to be delivered directly to the final consumer and to set criteria that can be checked by inspection services. Such quality characteristics should be based on Standard No 42 of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNJECE) concerning the marketing and commercial quality controls of eggs-in- shell moving in international trade between and to UN/ECE member countries. Cold eggs left out at room temperature can lead to condensation, facilitating the growth of bacteria on the () O] L 186, 7.7.2006, p. 1. (3 OJ L 340, 24.12.2003, p. 16. Regulation as last amended by Regu- lation (EC) No 2001/2006 (O] L 379, 28.12.2006, p. 39). () OJ L 139, 30.4.2004, p. 1. Corrected by OJ L 226, 25.6.2004, p. 3. (* OJ L 139, 30.4.2004, p. 55. Corrected by O] L 226, 25.6.2004, p- 22. Regulation as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 1791/2006 (O] L 363, 20.12.2006, p. 1). shell and probably ingress into the egg. Therefore, eggs must be stored and transported preferably at a constant temperature, and should in general not be refrigerated before sale to the final consumer. In general, eggs should not be washed or cleaned because such practices can cause damage to the egg shell, which is an effective barrier to bacterial ingress with an array of antimicrobial properties for the egg. However, some practices, such as treatment of eggs with ultra-violet rays, should not be interpreted as constituting a cleaning process. Moreover, Class A eggs should not be washed because of the potential damage to the physical barriers, such as the cuticle, which can occur during or after washing. Such damage may favour trans-shell contamination with bacteria and moisture loss and thereby increase the risk to consumers, particularly if subsequent drying and storage conditions are not optimal. However, egg-washing systems subject to authorisation and operating under carefully controlled conditions are used in some Member States with good results. According to the opinion of the European Food Safety Authority, Scientific Panel on Biological Hazards on the request from the Commission related to the Micro- biological risks on washing of Table Eggs adopted on 7 September 2005 (°), the egg-washing practice as performed in certain packing centres can be sustained from a hygienic standpoint provided, inter alia, that a code of practice for egg-washing systems is developed. Class A eggs should be graded by weight, and a limited number of weight grades and corresponding clear terms should be fixed as minimum labelling requirements, which do not rule out additional voluntary labelling, provided the requirements of Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 March 2000 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs (¢) are met. Only undertakings whose premises and technical equipment are suited to the scale and type of their operations, and which therefore allow eggs to be handled properly, should be authorised to grade eggs by quality and weight as packing centres. (®) The EFSA Journal (2005) 269, 1-39. (® O] L 109, 6.5.2000, p. 29. Directive as last amended by Commission Directive 2006/142/EC (O] L 368, 23.12.2006, p. 110).