USDA blames higher egg prices on bird flu concerns

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday said that egg prices were likely to remain steady where they were. The department reported a week before that egg prices had risen to record-high prices in many retail markets across the nation. The national average advertised price for the week of Jan. 10 increased about 50 cents, to $2.36 per dozen. Despite those higher prices, people were still buying eggs at their local stores due to concerns that they wouldn’t be able to find eggs later, the department said. Grocers often sell eggs and other food staples at a loss to bring in shoppers.

The government last month lowered its expectations for how many eggs U.S. farmers would produce in the new year, due to the prevalence of avian flu.

What is this avian flu and what does it have to do with eggs? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed that bird flu is sweeping across U.S. poultry farms. The disease occurs when an influenza virus infects a poultry animal, according to the CDC. In some cases, cows and humans have contracted the same virus.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report in The Sift about the first human bird flu death in the United States.