Hi Brigita,

Welcome to the IFSQN forums.
I understand your comment regarding the egg being protected by the shell, but there is still a possibility for contamination (albeit a reduced one) and the product is not fully enclosed eithin packaging or equipment, so I would say shell egg packing would fall into an open product area - low risk category as per the decriptions from BRCGS below.
Open product areas
Wherever ingredients, intermediates or finished products are not protected from the factory environment, there is a potential risk of product contamination by foreign bodies, allergenic material or micro-organisms in the environment.
Low risk
The significance to human health of microbiological contamination in low-risk areas is reduced because the products either:
• do not support the growth of pathogens (either intrinsically or by design of the product) or the survival of pathogens, which could subsequently grow during the normal storage or use of the product
• are designed to undergo a later kill step that will ensure the product is safe to eat.
Enclosed product areas
An enclosed product area is defined as an area of the factory where all of the products are fully enclosed and therefore not vulnerable to environmental contamination (e.g. foreign bodies or micro-organisms). This includes areas where:
• the product is fully enclosed within packaging (e.g. raw material and finished product storage and dispatch areas)
• the product is fully enclosed within equipment
Kind regards,
Tony
Practical HACCP Training for Food Safety Teams - Live Webinar next Friday May 09, 2025
Also immediately available via the previous webinar recording.
Fantastic value at $97/per person, but don’t take our word for it, read the Customer Reviews here
Celebrating 15 years of IFSQN Implementation Packages:
IFSQN BRC, FSSC 22000, IFS, ISO 22000, SQF (Food, Packaging, Storage & Distribution) Implementation Packages - The Easy Way to Certification
Practical Internal Auditor Training for Food Operations - Live Webinar - Friday June 06, 2025 - Also immediately available via the previous webinar recording. Fantastic value at $97/per person, but don’t take our word for it, read the Customer Reviews here