National rules

Can you sell backyard eggs in Togo?

Togo's 1999 animal health law has a sworn vet inspect animal-origin foods, eggs included per a 2007 order, up to sale. Establishments selling such foods, retail too, pay approval fees; home sellers' duty is unclear.

Read from 6 official sources38 passages quotedChecked November 2, 2026

At a glance

License

Not stated

Small-flock line

No small-seller rule found in the national texts read

Farmers markets

Not stated

Cartons

Not stated

In plain English

No licence or small-seller rule specific to eggs was found in the national texts read. A 2015 interministerial order on cold stores defines the sanitary approval ('agrément sanitaire') as a document mandatory for all establishments preparing, processing or storing foods, and requires it for cold stores (Arts 2, 3); whether a household selling its own eggs is such an establishment was not established. A 2014 interministerial fees order charges approval fees when the livestock minister grants approvals to establishments for the production, import, export, handling and sale of animal-origin foods and animal feed (Art. 4), an establishment being any unit of a food-sector enterprise (Art. 5); its fee table runs from 25.000 FCFA per approval for retail sale establishments to 300.000 FCFA for producers, processors, importers and exporters. A 2020 interministerial order makes the marketing of listed sensitive products (produits sensibles), including foods of animal origin, subject to a prior declaration to the commerce ministry (Art. 2 and annex); its Art. 10 gives importers three months to comply, and whether it reaches a household selling eggs was not established. Under a 2007 ministry order, primary responsibility for food safety lies with the food business operator (Art. 47), and people who handle animal-origin foods in their job, including during display or sale, must comply with the prescriptions referred to in point 3 of its Art. 6 (Art. 21).

A sourced reading of the rules in Togo, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the Directorate of livestock, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development before you sell.

Do you need a license?

Not stated in the sources we readNo small-seller rule found in the national texts read

Where you can sell

From home or the farm

Not stated

No rule specific to selling eggs from home was found. The 1999 animal health police law requires a sworn veterinary inspector to inspect the salubrity and quality of animal-origin foods from their preparation until they are put on sale (Art. 24); a joint order setting how this applies (Art. 28) was not found. A 2007 ministry order counts eggs among animal-origin foods (Art. 1) and names the livestock and fisheries directorate of the agriculture ministry as the competent inspection authority (Art. 3).

Farmers markets

Not stated

No market rule for egg sellers was found in the texts read. The inspection duty in the 1999 law (Art. 24) is not limited to any place of sale. Local market rules were not researched.

Stores and restaurants

Not stated

No rule on shops or restaurants buying eggs from small sellers was found in the texts read.

Cartons, labels and handling

Cartons

No carton or packaging rule for eggs was found in the texts read.

Refrigeration

A 2015 interministerial order on cold stores sets a maximum of 5°C for refrigerated eggs and says eggs neither refrigerated nor preserved are kept dry, out of the sun, preferably at a constant temperature, both during storage or transport and in direct-sale or catering establishments (Art. 27 and table). The order covers cold stores (Art. 1); whether it reaches a household selling eggs was not established.

The label must show

A 2007 ministry order says foods placed on the market are labelled or identified adequately to help their traceability (Art. 42); it lists no label items, and whether it reaches a household selling eggs was not established.

Grading

No grading rule for eggs was found in the texts read.

Washing

Not stated in the sources we read.

Pricing your dozen? The egg price calculator works it out from your feed bill.

Keeping chickens in Togo? →Registration, bird-flu housing orders and welfare rules, on their own page.Not established

Common questions

Can I sell eggs from my backyard chickens in Togo, and do I need a license?
Togo's 1999 animal health law has a sworn vet inspect animal-origin foods, eggs included per a 2007 order, up to sale. Establishments selling such foods, retail too, pay approval fees; home sellers' duty is unclear. Small-flock line: no small-seller rule found in the national texts read. The conditions, and the law they come from, are on this page.
Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in Togo?
Not stated in the sources we read. No market rule for egg sellers was found in the texts read. The inspection duty in the 1999 law (Art. 24) is not limited to any place of sale. Local market rules were not researched.
Can I reuse egg cartons in Togo?
The sources we read don't settle this. In short: No carton or packaging rule for eggs was found in the texts read. Ask the Directorate of livestock, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development before reusing cartons for eggs you sell.
What has to be on the carton label in Togo?
In short: A 2007 ministry order says foods placed on the market are labelled or identified adequately to help their traceability (Art. 42); it lists no label items, and whether it reaches a household selling eggs was not established.
Do eggs I sell in Togo have to be kept cold?
In short: A 2015 interministerial order on cold stores sets a maximum of 5°C for refrigerated eggs and says eggs neither refrigerated nor preserved are kept dry, out of the sun, preferably at a constant temperature, both during storage or transport and in direct-sale or catering establishments (Art. 27 and table). The order covers cold stores (Art. 1); whether it reaches a household selling eggs was not established.
Sources
Read the 38 passages this page is built on
What we couldn't confirm
  • The 1999 law was read in the Journal officiel copy of 4 March 1999 published on the agriculture ministry's website; later amendments were not checked. A ministry order of July 2023 still cites it.
  • The 2007, 2014, 2015 and 2020 orders were read in the ministry's copies; later amendments were not checked, and the Journal officiel publications were not read.
  • An order of 20 April 2007 setting conditions for the export, import, production and placing on the market of animal-origin foods, amended by an order of 23 July 2012 (both cited in the 2014 fees order), was not read. The agriculture ministry's documentation page lists an order amending the order on import conditions for animal-origin foods, which may be that 2012 amendment; it was not opened, so its rules for egg sellers were not checked.
  • A 2007 order (Art. 42) says foods placed on the market are labelled or identified adequately to help traceability, without listing label items; no egg label, carton or grading rule was found.
  • The Penal Code and the public-hygiene and local-government laws could not be read on an official website on 2026-11-02, so cruelty offences in the Penal Code and local keeping rules were not checked.
  • Current bird-flu measures are not asserted here. The agriculture ministry's documentation page lists bird-flu communiqués, which were not opened; no page showing current measures was identified in the sources read.

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