Does the operator need to know the difference between a crack and a leaker?

Yes. In a crack the shell breaks but the membranes stay intact. In a leaker the membranes also break and the contents run out. The two have different destinations, and unfitness for human consumption is the RIISPOA criterion (art. 500, VII).

When must a dirty egg be discarded?

A dirty cracked egg must be discarded at once or broken in a properly identified container, to make sure it reaches the right destination (MAPA, question 26). Training should also make clear what to do with dirty eggs that are not cracked, which follow other washing and destination rules.

How many steps does grading have under the law?

RIISPOA (art. 223) lists four procedures: general shell inspection, candling, grading and checking the hygiene and integrity of the packaging. Training should cover all of them, not only the visual check of the shell.

Guide · Running the line

How do you train egg grading operators?

An egg grading operator needs to know the mandatory steps of grading (RIISPOA, art. 223), the difference between Class A and Class B, and where each type of defective egg goes. Training should cover what a crack, dirt and a leaker are, when to discard, and how to review unverified eggs. It should be repeated and recorded.

Updated October 9, 2026 · 4 min read

Which steps must the operator master?

RIISPOA sets four procedures for egg establishments: general inspection of the shell for cleanliness and integrity, candling, grading of the eggs, and checking the hygiene conditions and integrity of the packaging (RIISPOA, art. 223). Training should cover each of them, with what to look for at each step.

In practice, a line operator takes part in more than one step. The operator needs to know what the camera or the equipment already does and what remains the team's responsibility.

General inspection of the shell for cleanliness and integrity.
Candling, which checks the air cell and the yolk.
Grading the eggs into Classes A and B.
Checking hygiene conditions and the integrity of the packaging.

What is the difference between a Class A and a Class B egg?

Class A covers eggs with a shell of normal shape, smooth, clean and intact, an air cell that is low and stationary, a yolk visible on candling only as a shadow, clear white and a germ with imperceptible development (RIISPOA, art. 225). An egg that does not meet these criteria but is harmless goes to Class B (RIISPOA, art. 226).

Class B is intended exclusively for industrial processing (RIISPOA, art. 226, sole paragraph). For the operator, the practical rule is not to grade as Class A an egg that clearly fails any of the criteria.

When must a defective egg be discarded or routed elsewhere?

A dirty cracked egg must be discarded at once or broken in a properly identified container, to make sure it reaches the right destination (MAPA, question 26). A clean cracked egg with an intact membrane goes to industrial processing as quickly as possible (RIISPOA, art. 227).

An egg with a broken shell and membranes, where the contents are exposed, is unfit for human consumption (RIISPOA, art. 500, VII). The operator must recognize the difference between a crack and a leaker, because their destinations differ.

How do you review unverified eggs?

An unverified egg is one the system cannot judge in full, because it is cut off by the edge of the image, overlapping another egg or abnormally shaped. In Vigiovo it receives no grade and goes to manual review, so the operator needs to know what to look for at that step.

The review follows the same criteria as the earlier steps: shell, dirt, visible cracks and, where relevant, candling. It should be recorded, so the quality team can see how many eggs ended up in this situation and why.

How do you keep training effective over time?

Training works when it is repeated and assessed on the line, not only in the classroom. A good practice is to combine the explanation of the rules with real examples of eggs from each class, taken from your own production.

Record who was trained, in which steps and on what date. Repeat the training when the line changes, when a new operator joins or when the dirty and cracked egg indicators rise. To follow those indicators, see dirty and cracked egg KPIs.

Show real examples of clean, dirty, cracked and unverified eggs.
Run a practical assessment at the end of the training, using eggs the operator has not seen yet.
Review the rules whenever the line or the production flow changes.

Frequently asked questions

Does the operator need to know the difference between a crack and a leaker?: Yes. In a crack the shell breaks but the membranes stay intact. In a leaker the membranes also break and the contents run out. The two have different destinations, and unfitness for human consumption is the RIISPOA criterion (art. 500, VII).
When must a dirty egg be discarded?: A dirty cracked egg must be discarded at once or broken in a properly identified container, to make sure it reaches the right destination (MAPA, question 26). Training should also make clear what to do with dirty eggs that are not cracked, which follow other washing and destination rules.
How many steps does grading have under the law?: RIISPOA (art. 223) lists four procedures: general shell inspection, candling, grading and checking the hygiene and integrity of the packaging. Training should cover all of them, not only the visual check of the shell.

Sources

Decreto nº 9.013/2017 (RIISPOA), Presidência da República (Brasil)
Perguntas e respostas sobre a Portaria MAPA nº 612/2022 (versão de 05/06/2023), Ministério da Agricultura e Pecuária (MAPA)

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.

See how it works