The FDA categorizes egg production farms as “small” with 3,000 to 50,000 hens or “large” with more than 50,000 hens. Using this broad but uninformative classification there were 749 new registrations with 634 small farms and 115 large farms in 2025. Although small farms are increasing in number there is proportionality with respect to large farm registrations. In 2021 the ratio of small to large farms was 5.8: 1 with 183 registrations. For the most recent year the ratio was 5.5: 1 with 749 registrations.
The data presented by FDA at the United Egg Producers’ Food Safety Committee on January 26th may be important with respect to assessing demand for inspection services, but the figures are totally meaningless in the context of industry trends and expansion. The classifications of “small” and “large” are far too narrow and should be expanded in relation to hen numbers within each of the existing two categories. A second question relates to the number of total registrations that have increased since 2021 representing a three-fold expansion, without corresponding to the total number of hens. Of particular interest is the increase in small farms from 2024 with a total of 329 units representing five million hens at a hypothetical 15,000 birds per registrant. It is also noted that large farms increased by 115 registrations. Assuming a minimum of 50,000 hens per farm this would represent 5.58 million additional birds.
FDA data confirmed that as of January 2026 there were 4,605 registered farms located in the United States with 3,612 or 78.4 percent classified as small producers. The figures presented do not apparently distinguish between pullet farms and egg production units. Data is, however, consistent with the increase in farms ranging from 10,000 to 20,000 hens established by contract farmers supplying egg packing plants with cage-free, free-range and pasture-housed flocks.
During Calendar 2025, the FDA in collaboration with state agencies conducted 244 inspections or 5.3 percent of all farms to determine compliance with federal standards for food safety. Of the 244 inspections ten required official action with six warning letters. If this proportion reflects the entire U.S. industry there are theoretically 120 farms that would have qualified for an official warning.
There is no indication of the number of farms with less than 3,000 hens that fly under FDA radar. A unit with of 3,000 hens producing at 75 percent hen-day, could theoretically market 68,000 dozen, representing a potential risk for up to 3,000 consumers or more if restaurants are recipients of contaminated eggs.
Fortunately, epidemiologic data confirms a low incidence rate of Salmonella Enteritidis infection from eggs in the U.S. This is attributed in part to widespread adoption of vaccination, an effective modality not considered by the FDA in framing the Final Rule on Salmonella in Eggs. Thorough cooking to 165 F for 30 seconds to the center of the yolk effectively destroys vertically transmitted Salmonella Enteritidis. Mandatory washing of eggs with approved detergent-disinfectant combinations at an appropriate pH and temperature to destroy shell contamination and the post-packing cold chain are modalities contributing to the low incidence rate of egg-borne salmonellosis.