A Major Grocery Chain Just Put A Limit On Eggs Per Customer
With egg prices soaring in recent months to an average of $4.15 per dozen — and up to $8 in some regions — folks are already frustrated by the national scarcity of the staple breakfast ingredient. Yet prices aren't predicted to go down anytime soon, and the ongoing shortage is influencing some companies to limit how many one can purchase while grocery shopping. Trader Joe's is one such business, recently capping the amount of eggs folks can walk out with at one dozen per customer per day.
The reason behind the controversial move is so that all the neighborhood grocer's patrons can access at least some eggs. Trader Joe's currently sells pasture-raised large brown eggs for roughly $5 a dozen, with the organic variety costing nearly $7. A dozen per day is enough for most shoppers, but it certainly makes one cautious about making mistakes while cooking omelets so as not to waste a single precious yolk. For some folks, the high cost may be turning eggs into one of the Trader Joe's products worth skipping on their next shopping trip, Unfortunately, the national egg shortage doesn't look as though it will be remedied in the near future.
Three factors making eggs elusive and expensive
In 2022, egg farms experienced cases of bird flu that required slaughtering entire flocks of chickens to stop the spread of the virus H5N1. These massive operations can house over a million chickens at a time, meaning even one case of bird flu can cause a significant shortage of eggs. Since the bird flu outbreak started in 2022, nearly 145 million chickens have had to be exterminated in hopes of containing the virus. Another factor contributing to the skyrocketing price of eggs is transportation. Truck drivers are in short supply these days, which amounts to rising costs for refrigerated shipping — a necessary way for farms to distribute eggs around the country.
Cage-free egg laws in states such as California and Colorado have also contributed to rising costs. These laws require that hens be allotted a certain amount of space where they are confined, which limits how many eggs can be produced at any given time. All of this means that eggs have become downright precious. So, whether you like eggs sunny side up or prefer to give them one flip for an over-easy egg, it would be wise to treat them with care. It is unlikely that prices will go down soon. You may soon see more grocery stores following Trader Joe's lead by limiting how many shoppers can purchase at a single time.