Can you sell backyard eggs in Gambia?
The Gambia's 2011 Food Safety and Quality Act says food businesses must register with the Food Safety and Quality Authority; the order bringing it into force was not found. No small-seller or egg-specific rule was found.
Read from 2 official sources9 passages quotedChecked October 29, 2026
At a glance
Licence
Registration if the 2011 Act is in force
Small-flock line
No small-seller exemption found in the national rules read
Farmers markets
Not stated
Cartons
Not stated
In plain English
The Food Safety and Quality Act, 2011 says a person shall not operate a business dealing in food unless registered with the Food Safety and Quality Authority (s.32(1)). A 'food business' is any undertaking, for profit or not, public or private, carrying out activities related to the production, processing and distribution of food (s.2). The Vice President may exempt classes of food business by order in the Gazette (s.32(3)); no such order was found. The Act comes into force on a date the Vice President appoints by order (s.1); that order was not found, but the Authority states that it is established by the Act and is the national competent authority for food control.
A sourced reading of the rules in Gambia, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the Food Safety and Quality Authority of The Gambia before you sell.
Do you need a licence?
- The Act says a food business must be registered with the Food Safety and Quality Authority (s.32(1)); the order bringing the Act into force was not found, but the Authority states that it is established by the Act.
- The Vice President is to set by order in the Gazette the classes of establishment, vehicle or vessel to which s.33 applies (s.33(3)); no such order was found.
- The Act says labels must not have a tendency to mislead the purchaser to a material degree and must be in English; other languages may be added.s.42
The exact wording
Where you can sell
From home or the farm
No rule on selling eggs from home was found in the Act. Its registration duty (s.32(1)) is written for anyone operating a business dealing in food, though the order bringing the Act into force was not found; how the Authority applies it to a household selling eggs was not found.
Farmers markets
No market rule for egg sellers was found in the Act. Council market rules were not surveyed.
Stores and restaurants
No rule on shops or restaurants buying eggs from small sellers was found in the Act.
Also check with: Food Safety and Quality Authority (food business registration)
Cartons, labels and handling
Cartons
The sources we read don't set a carton rule.
Refrigeration
No storage temperature for eggs was found in the Act.
The label must show
Not established for eggs: the Act says a food business operator must not use labels that have a tendency to mislead the purchaser to a material degree (s.42(1)) and that labels must be in English, with other languages allowed (s.42(2)); no list of required label items was found, and the order bringing the Act into force was not found.
Grading
Not stated in the sources we read.
Washing
Not stated in the sources we read.
Pricing your dozen? The egg price calculator works it out from your feed bill.
Common questions
- Can I sell eggs from my backyard chickens in Gambia, and do I need a licence?
- The Gambia's 2011 Food Safety and Quality Act says food businesses must register with the Food Safety and Quality Authority; the order bringing it into force was not found. No small-seller or egg-specific rule was found. Small-flock line: no small-seller exemption found in the national rules read. The conditions, and the law they come from, are on this page.
- Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in Gambia?
- Not stated in the sources we read. No market rule for egg sellers was found in the Act. Council market rules were not surveyed. Also check with Food Safety and Quality Authority (food business registration).
- Can I reuse egg cartons in Gambia?
- The sources we read do not say; ask the Food Safety and Quality Authority of The Gambia before reusing cartons for eggs you sell.
- What has to be on the carton label in Gambia?
- In short: Not established for eggs: the Act says a food business operator must not use labels that have a tendency to mislead the purchaser to a material degree (s.42(1)) and that labels must be in English, with other languages allowed (s.42(2)); no list of required label items was found, and the order bringing the Act into force was not found.
- Do eggs I sell in Gambia have to be kept cold?
- In short: No storage temperature for eggs was found in the Act.
- Act No. 7 of 2011, ss.1, 2, 32, 33, 42 (as passed; the commencement order was not found) · Food Safety and Quality Act, 2011
- Act No. 14 of 2023, ss.2, 10, 11, 31, 33, 35, 77 (as passed; commencement not shown in the printed copy) · Animal Health Act, 2023
- List of council functions, entry 'Prohibit, restrict, regulate or license', para (k) (as passed in 2002; later amendments not checked) · Local Government Act, 2002
- Food Safety and Quality Authority of The Gambia · Food business registration
Read the 9 passages this page is built on
“NO. 07 OF 2011 Assented to by The President, this 08th day of August, 2011”
Act No. 7 of 2011, ss.1, 2, 32, 33, 42 (as passed; the commencement order was not found) · read 2026-10-29
“1. This Act may be cited as the Food Safety and Quality Act 2011 and shall come into force on such date as the Vice President may appoint by Order published in the Gazette.”
Act No. 7 of 2011, ss.1, 2, 32, 33, 42 (as passed; the commencement order was not found) · read 2026-10-29
"food business" means any undertaking, whether for profit or not and whether public or private, carrying out any of the activities related to the production, processing and distribution of food;
Act No. 7 of 2011, ss.1, 2, 32, 33, 42 (as passed; the commencement order was not found) · read 2026-10-29
“32. (1) A person shall not operate a business dealing in food or feed unless he or she is registered with the Authority.”
Act No. 7 of 2011, ss.1, 2, 32, 33, 42 (as passed; the commencement order was not found) · read 2026-10-29
“(3) The Vice President may by order published in the Gazette exempt any class of food or feed business from the registration requirement.”
Act No. 7 of 2011, ss.1, 2, 32, 33, 42 (as passed; the commencement order was not found) · read 2026-10-29
“(3) The Vice President shall by Order published in the Gazette determine the classes of establishment, vehicle or vessel to which this section applies.”
Act No. 7 of 2011, ss.1, 2, 32, 33, 42 (as passed; the commencement order was not found) · read 2026-10-29
“42. (1) A food business operator shall not use labels and methods for labelling food that - (a) has a tendency to mislead the purchaser to a material degree”
Act No. 7 of 2011, ss.1, 2, 32, 33, 42 (as passed; the commencement order was not found) · read 2026-10-29
“(2) The labels shall be in English language although additional labels in any other language may be used.”
Act No. 7 of 2011, ss.1, 2, 32, 33, 42 (as passed; the commencement order was not found) · read 2026-10-29
“Food Safety and Quality Authority of The Gambia is established by the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2011 under the Office of The President. It is the sole National Competent Authority with powers of delegation mandated to officially control the safety and quality of all foods”
Food Safety and Quality Authority of The Gambia · read 2026-10-29
What we couldn't confirm
- The order bringing the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2011 into force was not found; the Authority's own pages state that it is established by the Act.
- No egg-specific grading, carton, label or storage-temperature rule, and no small-seller rule, was found in the Act; regulations and the Authority's guideline documents were not read.
- The Animal Health Act, 2023 was read in the National Assembly's printed copy, whose commencement date is blank; no commencement notice and no regulations under it were found. The Diseases of Animals Act (Cap. 62:03), which it repeals, was not read.
- Current bird-flu measures are not asserted here, and no official status page was identified in the sources read.
- The Criminal Code was not read; its animal-cruelty provisions, if any, are not reflected here.
- Council rules on keeping poultry were not surveyed.
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