Since 1996 World Egg Day has been celebrated every year on the second Friday in October. This year, on October 11, countries throughout the world will join together to celebrate the egg in a variety of different ways. This year’s theme, ‘United by eggs’ emphasizes how eggs can help to connect people from diverse backgrounds, cultures and nations, highlighting their universal appeal and essential role in global nutrition.
“World Egg Day is an incredible opportunity to recognize the nutritional value, economic contribution, and cultural significance of eggs across the globe,” said Julian Madeley, CEO of the World Egg Organization (WEO).
“This year we want to highlight the unmatched power of eggs to bring people together. Eggs unite people in many ways, whether that is through shared meals, cultural traditions or the joint pursuit of improved nutrition,” he added. “Eggs are a vital part of diets globally, offering a widely accessible source of high-quality protein and essential nutrients. They play a crucial role in supporting healthy growth and development during all stages of life.”
“World Egg Day can serve as a platform for bringing people together, fostering cross-cultural understanding, and promoting solidarity within communities around the world. We look forward to seeing how individuals and communities celebrate this year,” Madelay added.
Unfortunately, this year’s celebration is being overshadowed in the U.S. by spiking egg prices and a salmonella outbreak that has just been upped to a Class I by the CDC.
Bird Flu
Egg prices spiked by 28.1% in August from 12 months ago, easily the biggest increase out of any food item tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The sticker shock in the egg aisle comes even as overall grocery prices are barely budging (up less than 1% in August from last year) and inflation cools across the US economy.
As CNN reports, the main culprit for rising egg prices is a familiar one: bird flu, which has been on the rise since 2022. Birds are getting sick, and that means fewer eggs and higher prices at the grocery store. “Bird flu is the number one reason for higher prices, absolutely,” said Phil Lempert, a grocery industry analyst and editor of SuperMarketGuru.com.
Thankfully, eggs aren’t nearly as expensive as they were in late 2022 and early 2023. That bird flu-sparked price spike sent the average price of a dozen Grade A large eggs to a record of $4.82, according to the BLS. Still, the current BLS average of $3.20 per dozen eggs remains high. Before Covid-19, eggs never hit $3 per dozen, according to BLS data going back to 1980. Now Americans are paying nearly twice as much for eggs as before the pandemic. According to market intelligence platform Datasembly, the average price of eggs has surged 83% since October 2019.
The good news is that wholesale prices have just begun to fall sharply, a drop that should eventually trickle down to shoppers. “If we can get through a 6-8 month stretch without AI (avian influenza), markets should return toward more normal, long-term average levels,” Moscogiuri said. However, if bird flu infections continue, all bets are off for the anticipated spike in demand during the holiday season.
Market Consolidation and Price Gauging
Which brings it to another root problem for consumers: price gouging and market share consolidation by producers. Like other industries, the egg industry has experienced a wave of mergers that has left the nation more reliant on only a handful of large producers. As CNN reports, since 2020, the five biggest egg companies controlled between 36% and 40% of all egg-laying hens in the United States, according to a recent report by Farm Action, a group that fights corporate control of the food system.
Cal-Maine Foods, America’s biggest egg producer, controls about one-fifth of national egg sales following multiple acquisitions. When egg prices spiked to record highs in early 2023, Cal-Maine’s profit skyrocketed 718%. “High egg prices in 2022 and 2023 were a product of price-gouging by dominant egg producers, who used the cover of inflation and avian flu to extract profit margins as high as 40% on a dozen loose eggs,” the Farm Action report concluded.
Basel Musharbash, managing attorney at Anti Monopoly Counsel, an antitrust law and policy firm in Texas, told CNN that consolidation has allowed the egg industry to take advantage of supply shocks. “There is no buffer. Whenever there is a shock now, there is a shortage. That helps keep prices high at all times,” said Musharbash, the lead author of the Farm Action report.
Salmonella Outbreak
As USA Today reports, late last month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) upgraded a previous egg recall alert to warn consumers of serious reactions and possibly death, if consumed. The recall was originally announced Sept. 6 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and was upgraded Sept. 30 to Class I, a product that “will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.”
The original recall notification stated 65 people in nine states were infected with salmonella linked to eggs supplied by Wisconsin’s Milo’s Poultry Farms LLC from May 23 to Aug. 10. No deaths were reported, but 24 people were hospitalized, according to the CDC. The small business grocery store has voluntarily recalled all eggs supplied by its farm, the FDA said. The recalled eggs were distributed to retailers and food service distributors in Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan, the agency said.
The investigation said these states had reported cases linked to the outbreak:
- California
- Colorado
- Iowa
- Illinois
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Utah
- Virginia
- Wisconsin
Which Eggs are Being Recalled and What to do if You Have Them?
According to the FDA, all carton sizes with expiration dates of Oct. 12 and earlier for following brand eggs are being recalled:
- Milo’s Poultry Farms
- M&E Family Farms
- Tony’s Fresh Market
The alert also includes duck eggs brand Happy Quackers Farm sold in a 12-count carton, packaged by Milo’s Poultry Farms.
Consumers, restaurants and retailers should do the following if they have the recalled eggs:
- Do not eat, sell or serve recalled chicken eggs produced by Milo’s Poultry Farms and distributed to restaurants and retailers in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.
- Carefully clean and sanitize any surfaces or containers the eggs have touched.
- Dispose of any eggs you believe may be linked to the recall.
- Wash your hands, utensils and surfaces with hot, soapy water before and after handling raw eggs and food containing raw eggs.
- Contact your health care provider as soon as possible if you believe you may have developed symptoms of a salmonella infection after eating eggs.
What is Salmonella and its Symptoms?
Salmonella is a bacteria that can cause people to experience diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps. Symptoms can appear between six hours and six days of infection and will last for four to seven days, the CDC said.
According to the CDC, common symptoms of salmonella include:
- Stomach cramps.
- Diarrhea and a fever higher than 102 degrees.
- Diarrhea for more than three days that will not improve.
- Bloody diarrhea.
- Vomiting and inability to keep liquids down.
- Signs of dehydration.
Children younger than 5, the elderly and people who are immunosuppressed are more likely to have severe infections if they contract salmonella, the FDA said.
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