The rising egg prices in the USA are a burden on household budgets. In recent years, Americans have increased the amount of eggs they consume while reducing their intake of beef and venison, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture.
Egg consumption has increased in part because more families are eating eggs as a primary protein substitute, Los Angeles Times reporter Sonja Sharp told CBS News. “Each of us eats about as many eggs as a hen can lay in a year,” she said.
As demand for eggs has increased, production has plummeted in the US due to the ongoing avian or “bird flu” epidemic. Nearly 58 million birds had been infected with avian flu as of Jan. 6, the USDA said, making it the deadliest outbreak in U.S. history. Infected birds must be slaughtered, causing egg supplies to fall and prices to rise.
In California, for example, data shows that the average price for a dozen eggs hit $7.37 last week, compared to $2.35 a year ago. The nationwide average wholesale price for eggs per dozen is now $3.30, the USDA said last week. The average price of a dozen eggs per U.S. city rose to a record $3.58 in November, according to the latest available data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
In New York, grocery store owner Jose Filipe said rising egg prices have prompted many shoppers to change their spending habits.
“I’ve seen customers shift from buying organic eggs to more conventional eggs, now by the half-dozen. Prices have quadrupled in about six or seven months,” he recently told CBS2’s Jenna DeAngelis.
Avian influenza is transmitted by free-flying waterfowl such as ducks, geese and shorebirds and infects chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quail, domestic ducks, geese and guinea fowl. In another major recent epidemic, the disease killed more than 50 million chickens and turkeys in 2014 and 2015 and caused economic losses of $3.3 billion, the USDA estimates. The agency is now researching a possible vaccine against bird flu.
The cost of processed eggs – used in liquid or powdered form in convenience products such as salad dressings, cake mixes and chips – has also risen, adding to inflationary pressures.
The public health risk associated with bird flu remains low, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Still, as a general food safety rule, it’s recommended to cook poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165˚F.
The consumer price index – a closely watched indicator of inflation – rose 7.1% year-on-year in December. Falling prices for energy, raw materials and used cars are offsetting increases in food and shelter.
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Christopher J Brooks