Egg purchases limited at suburban Costco as bird flu leads to shortages, price hikes
Egg purchases at a Costco in suburban Mount Prospect are being limited by the store as a bird flu outbreak has led to nationwide shortages and price increases. Photos captured by NBC photographer George Mycyk inside the Mount Prospect Costco store showed a sign that reads “Please Note. Due to limited supply please: Limit 3 eggs.” It’s unknown if other Costco stores or other grocery stores in the Chicago area are limiting egg purchases. A bird flu outbreak has impacted the egg supply chain across the country, with even Waffle House now charging a $0.50 surcharge per egg. Anytime the virus is found on a poultry farm, the entire flock is slaughtered to help limit the virus’ spread. And with massive egg farms routinely housing more than 1 million chickens, just a few infections can cause a supply crunch. The problem tends to linger because it takes months to dispose of all the carcasses, disinfect barns and bring in new birds. More than 145 million chickens, turkeys and other birds have been slaughtered since the current outbreak began, with the vast majority of them being egg-laying chickens. Cage-free egg laws in 10 states may also be responsible for some supply disruptions and price increases. The laws set minimum space for chickens or cage-free requirements for egg-laying hens. They’ve already gone into effect in California, Massachusetts, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Michigan. At a Target in Chicago on Monday, a dozen large conventional eggs cost $4.49 but a dozen large cage-free eggs were selling for $6.19. Some grocery stores have even limited how many eggs shoppers can buy. “It’s just robbery,” said Minneapolis resident Sage Mills, who bought eggs to bake a birthday cake last week. “Eggs used to be kind of a staple food for us, but now you know, you might as well just go out to eat.”
Egg purchases at a Costco in suburban Mount Prospect are being limited by the store as a bird flu outbreak has led to nationwide shortages and price increases.
Photos captured by NBC photographer George Mycyk inside the Mount Prospect Costco store showed a sign that reads “Please Note. Due to limited supply please: Limit 3 eggs.”
It’s unknown if other Costco stores or other grocery stores in the Chicago area are limiting egg purchases.
A bird flu outbreak has impacted the egg supply chain across the country, with even Waffle House now charging a $0.50 surcharge per egg.
Anytime the virus is found on a poultry farm, the entire flock is slaughtered to help limit the virus’ spread. And with massive egg farms routinely housing more than 1 million chickens, just a few infections can cause a supply crunch.
The problem tends to linger because it takes months to dispose of all the carcasses, disinfect barns and bring in new birds.
More than 145 million chickens, turkeys and other birds have been slaughtered since the current outbreak began, with the vast majority of them being egg-laying chickens.
Cage-free egg laws in 10 states may also be responsible for some supply disruptions and price increases. The laws set minimum space for chickens or cage-free requirements for egg-laying hens. They’ve already gone into effect in California, Massachusetts, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Michigan. At a Target in Chicago on Monday, a dozen large conventional eggs cost $4.49 but a dozen large cage-free eggs were selling for $6.19.
Some grocery stores have even limited how many eggs shoppers can buy.
“It’s just robbery,” said Minneapolis resident Sage Mills, who bought eggs to bake a birthday cake last week. “Eggs used to be kind of a staple food for us, but now you know, you might as well just go out to eat.”
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