Chicken farmers propose surplus egg sales
OMAHA, Neb. — U.S. chicken producers want to do their part to bring down currently soaring egg prices by selling their 400 million surplus eggs to food producers.
But first they have to convince the Food and Drug Administration to change the rule that prevents eggs laid by chickens in the meat industry to be used for human consumption.
Egg prices have surged over the past year thanks to the ongoing bird flu outbreak and the highest inflation in decades, prompting calls for a price-gouging investigation. The national average retail price of a dozen eggs hit $4.25 in December, up from $1.79 a year earlier, according to the latest government data.
The National Chicken Council trade group submitted a formal petition to the FDA on Thursday asking officials to drop a rule passed in 2009 that keeps chicken producers from selling their excess eggs because they aren’t refrigerated right away.
The bird flu outbreak has had an outsized impact on egg prices because more than 43 million of the 58 million birds that have been slaughtered to help control the spread of the virus have been egg-laying hens. But egg farmers have also been grappling with high feed, fuel and labor costs, which contribute to the rising prices.
It’s not clear exactly how big of an impact the eggs chicken producers want to sell might have on prices because there are roughly 100 billion eggs a year produced in the U.S., so adding 400 million more to the market may not have a huge effect.
The FDA said it would review the petition and respond directly to the Chicken Council. But concerns about food safety are what drove them to adopt the rule.
When a broiler hatchery produces eggs, they are kept at 65 degrees until they are ready to be placed in incubators to be hatched. The FDA said in its rule that eggs that are going to be used for food need to be stored at temperatures below 45 degrees within 36 hours. The Chicken Council said it believes the eggs would be safe because they would be pasteurized before their use by food producers.