While grocers like Trader Joe’s set customer buying limits on egg cartons, the World Health Organization says communication on bird flu has been cut.
A resurgence of bird flu, which first struck the United States in 2022, is hitting chicken farms hard, sending egg prices soaring and rattling consumers. Photo: AFPNot only are eggs expensive, but they have become difficult to find.
An H5N1 virus – avian influenza commonly known as bird flu – outbreak in the United States has infected nearly 70 people, mostly farm workers, since April 2024.
Ramped-up concerns followed the US Department of Agriculture’s discovery of a second bird flu strain in dairy cattle in Nevada this week. However, communication on the flu became strained after US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), a spokesperson for the United Nations health agency said.
In a WHO briefing in Geneva, Christian Lindmeier told press: “Communication is a challenge indeed. The traditional ways of contact have been cut.” He declined to elaborate.
US urged to ramp up bird flu defence after recording its first human death
The yolk of it all
The ongoing bird flu has been catastrophic for eggs. Prices are soaring, and stock is plummeting.
When stores do have eggs, consumers face limits on how many they can buy. Eggs have become such a hot commodity that there have even been robberies.
The problem does not go away because the virus mutates and infects more birds, other animals and some people. Any time a chicken or turkey gets sick, the entire flock is slaughtered to help limit the spread.
The shortages tend to be isolated, so they might not be a problem at every store. But there is no way to predict when a massive farm with millions of birds might get hit. Just one of those cases can cause supply problems. As a result, prices have skyrocketed.
Hard to find
Jose Castillo said it is becoming hard to keep the Cuban sandwiches and king cakes affordable at his Norma’s Sweets Bakery in New Orleans, Louisiana, because he’s paying nearly four times as much for eggs now.
Empty egg shelves are becoming more common across the country. Sometimes, shoppers have to check two or three stores or seek out a local farmer to get their eggs.
This outbreak has taken a tremendous toll on poultry since it began in 2022. Nearly 158 million birds have been slaughtered, most of which are egg-laying chickens.
That hurts egg supplies and drives prices higher.
And when egg farmers have to kill their entire flock, it takes at least a month or two to get new birds because carcasses must be disposed of, and all barns must be sanitised before the farm is cleared.
Limiting purchases
Trader Joe’s is capping purchases to one carton per customer each day, the Monrovia, California-based chain confirmed. That limit applies to all Trader Joe’s locations across the United States.
“We hope these limits will help ensure that as many of our customers who need eggs can purchase them when they visit Trader Joe’s,” the company said in a statement sent to Associated Press Tuesday.
In addition, consumers and several local media outlets have also reported varying limits at stores like Costco, Whole Foods, Kroger and Aldi locations.
Not all limits are nationwide.
A spokesperson for Kroger, for example, confirmed that the supermarket giant does not currently have “enterprise-wide limits” in place but said some regional divisions and store banners are asking customers to cap egg purchases to two dozen per trip.
Walmart said it also has not imposed national limits – except for bulkier purchases of 60-count cartons, which have been capped to two per purchase, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retail giant confirmed Tuesday.
“Although supply is very tight, we’re working with suppliers to try and help meet customer demand while striving to keep prices as low as possible,” Walmart said in an emailed statement.
Cracking the case
With prices this high, it is no wonder that thieves have started to covet eggs.
Seattle police said they were investigating the theft of over 500 eggs from a restaurant last week.
Security camera footage from the early morning hours of last Wednesday showed two men entering a refrigerated shed at Luna Park Cafe in West Seattle, Washington state. The men removed boxes containing some 540 eggs and liquid egg products – as well as bacon, ground beef and blueberries – and loaded them into a van before leaving the scene. The stolen breakfast items were worth about US$780 (HK$6,075), police said.
Earlier this month, 100,000 eggs were reported stolen from the back of a trailer in Pennsylvania. The eggs were snatched from a Pete & Gerry’s Organics’ distribution trailer on Saturday at about 8.40pm in Antrim Township, according to police. Those stolen eggs were worth about US$40,000 (HK$311,530).