An egg shortage caused by the continued spread of avian flu has impacted shoppers across the country — just days before the holiday season gets underway.
Just a week before Thanksgiving, visitors to Trader Joe’s stores nationwide are taking to social media to report empty shelves that were previously stocked with eggs.
Shoppers at a Trader Joe’s store in the Union Market section of Washington, DC, noticed a sign on one of the shelves on Wednesday that read: “Temporarily out of eggs.”
Donella Brockington, a customer, told the Washington Post she was concerned she would not have eggs to bake for Thanksgiving.
“I hate going to grocery stores, so when I go and I can’t get what I want, it’s unpleasant,” she said.
A Chicago-area resident who tried to buy eggs at a local Trader Joe’s wrote on Reddit that the store was completely out of them.
A sign that was posted in the store read: “Where are the eggs? We’re transitioning to cage-free only which may temporarily reduce our supply. Thank you for your patience!”
More than 240 people responded to the post. Several of them agreed with the original poster, saying that they, too, noticed an egg shortage at their local grocer.
“None at my TJ’s either! I’m in Oregon! Ugh such a shame,” one Redditor wrote.
“I actually went to Trader Joe’s tonight and they had the same sign up. I’m in Pennsylvania,” another Reddit user commented.
Redditors based in Virginia, Colorado and Arizona all reported going to their local Trader Joe’s and seeing a shortage of eggs.
The Post has sought comment from Trader Joe’s.
In the 12-month period that ended last month, the price of eggs has soared by more than 30%, according to data from the Labor Bureau of Statistics. By comparison, food prices overall have risen 2.1% during that same period.
The average cost of a dozen Grade A large eggs was $3.37 in October — down from $3.82 in September, according to BLS data retrieved from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ FRED site.
Before February 2022, the average cost of a dozen eggs had consistently stayed at or below $2.
But the avian flu outbreak which began in January 2022 sent egg prices soaring. During the initial stage of the outbreak, the average cost of a dozen eggs surged to a record $4.82.
The price surge is being blamed on a spike in the number of cases of avian flu detected in wild aquatic birds and commercial poultry.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 108.4 million birds have been affected by avian flu nationwide since January 2022.
In Utah, Washington State and Oregon, more than 2.8 million birds were culled last month due to outbreaks of avian flu.
A report released by the US Department of Agriculture on Friday found that egg production nationwide fell 2.6% last month compared to a year ago.
Egg production is expected to decline 1% this year compared to 2023, according to the USDA.
Several cases of humans infected with bird flu have been reported though public health officials state that the risk of widespread infection in people is low.