(NEW YORK) — As bird flu continues to spread across the U.S., stores around the country are reporting a shortage of eggs amid soaring prices, high demand and supply limits.
More than 150 million poultry birds have been killed across all 50 states in an attempt to combat bird flu since 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The number of birds affected by the virus has been rising in recent months, with roughly 7 million affected in November, 18 million in December and 23 million in January, according to the latest figures from the USDA.
Over the last 30 days, 150 flocks were confirmed to test positive for bird flu, according to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Once a bird is infected, the only way to stop the virus from spreading further is to depopulate or cull the entire flock. It can take time for a flock to repopulate to lay eggs, affecting their price.
The Consumer Price Index, published Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed prices were 3% higher in January compared to a year ago. Prices for eggs increased 15.2% — the largest increase in egg prices since June 2015, according to the bureau.
As grocery stores and supermarkets limit the number of cartons of eggs that can be purchased, some people have resorted to stealing in order to get their hands on eggs.
Stores enforce purchase limits
Chains across the country have enforced limits on how many eggs customers can buy due to the high demand and shrinking supply.
“Due to ongoing issues with the supply of eggs, we are currently limiting egg purchases to one dozen per customer, per day, in all Trader Joe’s stores across the country,” a representative for Trader Joe’s confirmed to “Good Morning America” on Monday.
Other retailers, including Sprouts Farmers Market and Costco, have also implemented purchase limits on fresh eggs. Photos taken at Costco showed the warehouse giant limiting egg purchases to three per member.
This week, Lidl US announced it would also limit egg purchases to two per customer across all its stores.
“The following egg brands sold at Lidl US stores are currently limited to 2 per customer to ensure fair distribution: Green Valley, Simpson’s Eggs, and Puglisi’s Farm,” a Lidl US spokesperson said. “Specialty egg brands, including cage free, free range and organic, do not have limitations at this time at Lidl US.”
Despite concerns about the safety of eggs available in stores, experts say it’s highly unlikely to contract bird flu from commercially sold eggs.
Some turn to egg heists
Earlier this month, 100,000 organic eggs worth an estimated $40,000 were stolen from a facility in Green Castle, Pennsylvania.
Tom Flocco, CEO of Pete and Gerry’s Eggs, told “Good Morning America” in an exclusive interview last week that the company was going to boost security.
“I’ve worked in other industries before where things get stolen from factories,” Flocco said. “It happens. It’s terrible. I’m not happy about it, but it does happen. It could happen once; it could happen again. We are putting additional measures in place.”
Additionally, at Luna Park Café in Seattle, hundreds of dollars worth of eggs and other breakfast foods were stolen, according to the Seattle Police Department.
In the early morning hours on Feb. 5, two male suspects were caught on surveillance video entering a refrigerated shed at the restaurant, police said. The men stole 540 eggs worth $387, as well as bacon, ground beef, blueberries and liquid egg products, the SPD said.
A café employee said they saw one of the suspects return to the property, but he got back in the van and fled when he realized he’d been spotted, police said.
ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud, Kelly McCarthy, Joshua Richardson and Zunaira Zaki contributed to this report.
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