AManitoba Hutterite colony has been fined for selling improperly graded eggs to a Winnipeg grocery store. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency recently reported that the Evergreen Colony Ltd., operating as Evergreen Poultry Farms, sold Canada C grade eggs numerous times between Jan. 10, 2005 and Jan. 29, 2006.

C grade eggs are cracked eggs and cannot be sold as table or shell eggs because of a risk of salmonella contamination. They must be sold to a processor, where eggs are pasteurized before processing to kill bacteria.

CFIA said the colony, which operates a licensed grading station, pleaded guilty in Manitoba Provincial Court on May 15, 2009 to the offence under the Canada Agricultural Products Act. It was fined $5,000.

CFIA noted the City of Winnipeg’s environmental services division contributed toward the successful prosecution of the case.