Chicken farmers say their eggs could help reduce prices

Feb 9, 2023, 4:06 PM | Updated: 4:56 pm

FILE - Red Star chickens roost in their coop, Jan. 10, 2023, at Historic Wagner Farm in Glenview, I...

FILE - Red Star chickens roost in their coop, Jan. 10, 2023, at Historic Wagner Farm in Glenview, Ill. U.S. chicken producers want to do their part to bring down current soaring egg prices by selling their 400 million excess eggs to food producers. But first, they have to convince the FDA to change the food safety rule that prevents that. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)

(AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — U.S. chicken producers want to do their part to bring down current soaring egg prices by selling their 400 million surplus eggs to food producers.

But first they have to convince the FDA 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 Food and Drug Administration 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.

“Already faced with record egg prices, consumers might be hit even harder in their wallets as we head into the Easter season unless FDA provides us with a pathway to put these eggs to good use,” said Ashley Peterson, the trade group’s senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs.

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 that have contributed 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 Chicken Council’s petition and respond directly to that group. But concerns about food safety are what drove them to adopt the rule that prohibited the sale of the eggs in the first place.

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 they were used by food producers. The eggs that chicken producers don’t need to produce more chickens for meat production wouldn’t be sold to consumers in grocery stores. Instead they would go to makers of food products and processed eggs that are sold to bakers and other food companies.

The Chicken Council estimates that this FDA rule prohibiting the sale of these eggs costs chicken farmers about $27 million a year because currently the eggs are either thrown away, rendered or used for animal food.

But the United Egg Producers trade group said it would be a bad idea to relax food safety rules to allow these eggs laid by chicken producers to be sold.

“The safety of eggs is always the priority for America’s egg farmers, as is firm compliance with all regulatory requirements related to food safety,” said Oscar Garrison, the egg trade group’s vice president of food safety regulatory affairs. “United Egg Producers opposes the petition by the National Chicken Council because it does not comply with the egg safety rule.”

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


              FILE - Partially empty shelves with eggs are seen at a grocery story, Jan. 10, 2023, in Orlando, Fla. U.S. chicken producers want to do their part to bring down current soaring egg prices by selling their 400 million excess eggs to food producers. But first, they have to convince the FDA to change the food safety rule that prevents that. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)
            
              FILE - Red Star chickens roost in their coop, Jan. 10, 2023, at Historic Wagner Farm in Glenview, Ill. U.S. chicken producers want to do their part to bring down current soaring egg prices by selling their 400 million excess eggs to food producers. But first, they have to convince the FDA to change the food safety rule that prevents that. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)

AP

This photo provided by Robert Wilkes, owner of a house boat management company, shows smoke rising ...

Associated Press

Houseboats catch fire while docked at Wahweap Marina on Lake Powell

More than half a dozen house boats momentarily caught fire at a popular boating destination on the Utah-Arizona line on Friday.

3 days ago

File - Women work in a restaurant kitchen in Chicago, Thursday, March 23, 2023. On Friday, the U.S....

Associated Press

US hiring, unemployment jump in May and what that says about the economy

The nation’s employers stepped up their hiring in May, adding a robust 339,000 jobs, well above expectations.

3 days ago

(Pixabay Photo)...

Associated Press

Oath Keeper from Arizona sentenced for role in Jan. 6 riot at US Capitol

Edward Vallejo, a U.S. Army veteran from Phoenix, oversaw a “Quick Reaction Force” at a Virginia hotel that was prepared to deploy an arsenal of weapons into Washington if needed, authorities say.

4 days ago

FILE - U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz listens during a news conference, Jan. 5, 2023, in Washi...

Associated Press

US Border Patrol chief is retiring after seeing through end of Title 42 immigration restrictions

The head of the U.S. Border Patrol announced Tuesday that he was retiring, after seeing through a major policy shift that seeks to clamp down on illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border following the end of Title 42 pandemic restrictions.

5 days ago

FILE - President Joe Biden talks with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of Calif., on the House steps as...

Associated Press

House OKs debt ceiling bill to avoid default, sends Biden-McCarthy deal to Senate

The House approved a debt ceiling and budget cuts package late Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy assembled a bipartisan coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans against fierce conservative blowback and progressive dissent.

5 days ago

Sean Bickings (Family Photo via city of Tempe)...

Associated Press

Family of man who drowned last year in Tempe Town Lake files wrongful death lawsuit

The family of a man who drowned in Tempe Town Lake a year ago filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city Wednesday, noting that its police department doesn't have a policy requiring officers to go into the water to save someone.

5 days ago

Sponsored Articles

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Here are the biggest tips to keep your AC bill low this summer

PHOENIX — In Arizona during the summer, having a working air conditioning unit is not just a pleasure, but a necessity. No one wants to walk from their sweltering car just to continue to be hot in their home. As the triple digits hit around the Valley and are here to stay, your AC bill […]

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

5 mental health myths you didn’t know were made up

Helping individuals understand mental health diagnoses like obsessive compulsive spectrum disorder or generalized anxiety disorder isn’t always an easy undertaking. After all, our society tends to spread misconceptions about mental health like wildfire. This is why being mindful about how we talk about mental health is so important. We can either perpetuate misinformation about already […]

(Photo by Michael Matthey/picture alliance via Getty Images)...

Cox Communications

Valley Boys & Girls Club uses esports to help kids make healthy choices

KTAR’s Community Spotlight focuses on the Boys & Girls Club of the Valley and the work to incorporate esports into children's lives.

Chicken farmers say their eggs could help reduce prices