An egg inspecting apparatus (1) of the present invention includes an optical
path switching and projecting assembly (30) for automatically selecting
one of a plurality of optical paths through which a white source light (11)
emitted from a light source (2) is guided and also for sequentially projecting
the white source light (11) from the associated optical paths onto eggs
held at respective positions, a spectrum converting assembly for spectrally analyzing
light which has been transmitted through each of the eggs and converting it into
a spectrum, and a determining circuit (5) for determining whether the egg
is a normal egg or a bloody egg by using the spectrum so converted. By way of example,
a spectrum of an egg is measured and a secondary differential curve is formulated
for classification of the eggs according to egg shell colors. By comparing a spectral
pattern of the transmitted light of the egg with that of a normal egg for each
of the shell colors, and assaying a pattern similarity by means of a correlational
assay method, whether the egg is a normal egg or a bloody egg can be determined.