The National Egg Quality School
The National Egg Quality School is a non-profit tax-exampt organization dedicated to provide continuing training in the area of shell egg quality and safety throughout the food production and marketing chain. Its purpose is to provide a curriculum that includes egg formation, abnormalities, interior and exterior egg quality, conserving egg quality, food safety, and up-to-date information and technologies to individuals with responsibilities or interest in assuring the distribution of quality shell eggs throughout the marketing chain.
The National Egg Quality School (NEQS) is the result of the unification of the Midwest Egg Quality School and the Eastern Shell Egg Quality School. The unification of the two schools brought together a dedicated high quality faculty with a history since 1930 of presenting high quality egg schools in the US. There have been more than 700 student attend the NEQS since its formation and more than 4500 individuals who attend each of these other schools over the past 72 years. The school is a self supporting educational program that is funded through student tuition, donations from the allied industries and contributions from the supporting State Departments of Agriculture and Universities. The school would not exist without the active support, leadership, and sponsorship provided by people serving as section leaders and faculty and the various department of agricultures, universities, and egg industry organizations.
The school continues the tradition of a curriculum that is designed for the serious individual who wants to learn as much as possible about egg quality in a concentrated comprehensive four days. Our belief is that understanding quality must begin at the point the egg is formed and include evaluation of internal and external quality, conserving egg quality, and reviewing quality assurance programs (HACCP). There is individualized instruction coupled with hands on laboratory experience. These techniques have proven to be very beneficial to the students for both the final exam and becoming a more knowledgeable egg emissary.
The instructional staff includes leading university scientists, experienced state and federal regulatory officials, and seasoned industry representatives. Dr. Donald J. McNamara, of the Egg Nutrition Center, coordinates the educational program, and James Greer, Maryland Department of Agriculture, coordinates the laboratory program.
The National Egg Quality School provides a curriculum that is designed for the serious-minded student who is willing to learn as much as possible about egg quality and safety considerations in a comprehensive four days. Individualized instruction combined with “hands on” laboratory experience have proven to be successful techniques in preparing the student to be more knowledgeable in technical aspects of egg quality and safety. Students successfully completing the course may be awarded 27 continuing education credits by the National Environmental Health Association. More detailed information concerning the school may be found by contacting Deanna Baldwin at (410) 841-5769.