An egg shortage triggered by avian flu has prompted several grocery stores, including Costco, and Trader Joe's, to limit purchases.
Trader Joe's, with about 600 stores across the U.S., has a one-dozen eggs per day limit.
"We hope these limits will help to ensure that as many of our customers who need eggs are able to purchase them when they visit Trader Joe's," a Trader Joe's representative said Monday, CNN reported.
Sprouts Farmers Market has also set limits on the number of fresh eggs customers can buy.
A sign on empty egg shelves informed customers that egg availability may be limited in the coming weeks and restricting purchases to four dozen per visit.
"Due to supply shortages, availability may be limited in the coming weeks. Limit 4 dozen eggs per visit," a sign on one California store stated.
And warehouse giant Costco warns of shortages.
Costco issued a statement, saying, "Due to supply challenges caused by the highly pathogenic avian influenza, shell eggs and egg products may be short or cut from delivery orders without notice. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."
The grocery giant has reportedly imposed a limit of three packages of eggs per person and set a limit for online orders, allowing members to buy a maximum of five dozen eggs at a time.
Many shoppers took to social media to share pictures and videos, showing panic buying of massive amounts of eggs at the supermarkets.
🚨BREAKING: Frantic customers are now panic buying massive amounts of eggs at Costco, just like they did with toilet paper during Trump's last term. This is only the beginning of the chaos.
— Really American 🇺🇸 (@ReallyAmerican1) February 6, 2025
Make sure everyone sees this.pic.twitter.com/VaiTWAm9SF
Went to Costco for some eggs… if you go and can’t find some this lady took them all 😩 pic.twitter.com/L6qbam78zY
— 𝓚✨ (@kariinaxm) February 2, 2025
According to the US Department of Agriculture, a sharp increase in avian flu cases led to the deaths of over 40 million egg-laying birds last year. With fewer eggs available, prices jumped 14% from November to December and are expected to rise another 20% this year.
Waffle House responded to the rising costs by adding a 50-cent surcharge for each egg at its 2,100 restaurants.
Some shoppers have reported egg prices of $9 or more per carton in certain states.
