CANDLING The step in grading that lets the egg grader look inside the egg without breaking it to judge its quality. Long ago this was done by holding the egg tip before a candle. Some hand candling, using electric equipment, of course, is still used for spot-checking or for training egg graders, but today most eggs pass on rollers over high-intensity lights which make the interior of the egg visible. The eggs are rotated so all parts can be seen. The candler checks the size of the air cell and the distinctness of the yolk outline. Imperfections such its blood spots show up in candling. Very large packing plants may also use electronic blood detectors. -see Grading