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With eggs in short supply, some retailers around the country are putting limits on the number of cartons customers can buy at one time.
The discount grocery store Lidl told a New York news outlet that certain brands of eggs sold at its stores are limited to two dozen per customer.
“Specialty egg brands, including cage-free, free-range and organic, do not have limitations at this time at Lidl US,” Lidl told News 12.
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Some customers in parts of Massachusetts were also subject to a two-carton limit, as Reddit users shared on a message board in late January.
The egg shortages are likely to continue sporadically into the future, Emily Metz, president and CEO of the American Egg Board, told Fox News Digital.
The main culprit is the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak, she said.
“Affordable food matters to everyone, and while farmers are doing everything they can to keep costs down, it’s important to know that egg farmers are price takers, not price makers,” she said.
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Metz continued, “The volatility we’ve been seeing in egg prices reflects many factors, most of which are outside the control of an egg farmer. Eggs are sold on markets as commodities, like corn and wheat, and wholesale prices for eggs are driven largely by supply and demand.”
There are no treatments or vaccinations for bird flu, Metz said, and entire flocks are culled once it is detected.
“In the U.S. we’ve lost nearly 50 million laying hens in the past year to bird flu – and more than 14 million birds in just the past four weeks,” she said.
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Egg production, Metz said, is “both complex and time sensitive.”
“While we can’t predict the future, what we know right now is that our system is strained – and HPAI remains a clear-and-present risk to poultry flocks,” she said.
“It’s going to take a sustained period with no additional HPAI detections on egg farms to stabilize supply.”
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These shortages, however, will likely not last very long in different parts of the country.
“The good news is that egg farmers have a lot of experience working together to move eggs across the country to where they’re needed most – and that’s exactly what they’re doing now,” she said.
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“We understand how frustrating it is when eggs are not available on a shopping trip, and we expect any shortages to be localized and short-lived as egg farmers work with their retail customers to replenish those stocks.”
Eggs, she said, are delivered frequently to grocery stores – and empty cases “are being restocked with fresh eggs often within 24 hours.”
“Egg farmers deeply appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding in these extremely challenging circumstances,” Metz said.
“Keeping their birds safe and healthy is every egg farmer’s top priority, and they are working around the clock to protect their birds, replenish supply and keep those eggs coming.”