Comparison · Defects and grading
What is the difference between a check, a broken and a leaker egg?
The difference lies in the shell membranes. In a check or broken egg, the shell breaks, but the membranes stay intact and the contents do not leak. In a leaker, the membranes break too. In Brazil, a clean cracked egg goes to industrial processing, and a leaker is unfit for consumption as it is (RIISPOA, arts. 227 and 500).
Updated · 4 min read
What is the difference between a check, a broken and a leaker egg?
A check or broken egg has a broken shell, but the shell membranes stay intact and the contents do not leak. The US definition uses exactly this test: a check is an egg with a broken or cracked shell, intact shell membranes and contents that are not leaking (7 CFR 57.1). That is why a check and a broken egg with an intact membrane fall in the same group.
A leaker is an egg whose shell and shell membranes are broken to the extent that the contents are exposed or exuding through the shell (7 CFR 57.1). The difference lies in the membrane, not in the size of the crack: a small crack becomes a leaker when the membrane breaks too. For the details of each type of crack, see how to identify cracked eggs.
Check, broken or leaker: where does each one go?
The table compares the three cases by shell, membranes and the destination set by RIISPOA. The destination column applies in Brazil.
| Type | Shell | Membranes and contents | Destination in Brazil |
|---|---|---|---|
| Check or broken, clean shell | Cracked or broken, no dirt | Membrane intact; contents do not leak | Industrial processing, as soon as possible (art. 227) |
| Check or broken, dirty shell | Cracked or broken, with dirt | Membrane intact; contents do not leak | Unfit for consumption and may not be washed for derivatives (art. 500, VI; art. 228) |
| Leaker | Broken | Membranes broken; contents exposed or leaking | Unfit for consumption as it is (art. 500, VII) |
None of the three cases meets Class A, which requires an intact shell (RIISPOA, art. 225, I). What changes the destination is dirt and the integrity of the membrane, not the length of the crack.
Can a camera tell a check from a leaker?
A surface camera sees what appears on the shell: the visible crack and any content that has run out onto the outside. It does not see the membrane itself, so the distinction depends on what is on the shell.
In Vigiovo, adhering dirt such as yolk or blood on the shell goes to the dirty class, and a visible crack goes to the cracked class. The system has no separate class for leakers. Eggs that cannot be seen whole go to manual review, not to a grade.
Hairline cracks do not show on the shell. For those, candling is still needed, as explained in hairline cracks in eggs.
What should the line do with each type?
The decision starts with the shell and the dirt, because those define the destination under RIISPOA:
- Separate the eggs with an intact shell, free of cracks and dirt, because only they can go to Class A (art. 225, I).
- Remove the dirty cracked or broken eggs, which are unfit for human consumption (art. 500, VI).
- Send the clean cracked or broken eggs with an intact membrane to industrial processing, as soon as possible (art. 227).
- Remove the leakers from the line, because they are unfit for consumption as they are (art. 500, VII).
To compare inspection methods, see candling or computer vision. For the leaker case in detail, read leaker eggs: definition, risks and destination.
Frequently asked questions
Are a cracked egg and a leaker the same thing?
- No. In a cracked egg the shell breaks, but the membranes stay intact and the contents do not leak. In a leaker the shell and membranes both break, and the contents are exposed or leak out (7 CFR 57.1). The membrane is what separates the two cases.
Is a broken egg unfit for consumption?
- It depends on the dirt and the membrane. If the shell is clean and the shell membrane is intact, the egg goes to industrial processing as soon as possible (RIISPOA, art. 227). If the shell is dirty, it is unfit for human consumption (RIISPOA, art. 500, VI).
Can a leaker be sold as Class A?
- No. Class A requires a shell of normal shape, clean, smooth and intact (RIISPOA, art. 225, I). A leaker has a broken shell, so it does not meet this requirement, and it is unfit for consumption as it is (art. 500, VII).
Sources
- 7 CFR § 57.1 Definitions (Inspection of Eggs), U.S. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
- Decreto nº 9.013/2017 (RIISPOA), Presidência da República (Brasil)
How Vigiovo helps
Vigiovo grades eggs on the conveyor as clean, dirty, cracked or unverified, in real time, with deterministic computer vision: every decision comes with the measurements behind it, on an ordinary CPU.