A few restaurants are yanking eggy dishes from menus while others are thinking about raising their prices until the egg supply returns to his normal levels.
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Dennis Howard cooks an omelet at the Waveland Cafe, Friday, June 19, 2015, in Des Moines, Iowa. The outbreak started in the Midwest, and has been working its way east, but supermarkets on the East Coast that get their eggs locally have not seen a tremendous difference.
An Omaha breakfast and lunch eatery owner says his supplier’s inventory has dwindled because of demand and production is down because of federal testing.
The bird flu continues to affect the cost of eggs across the US.
The bird influenza took The lives of millions of female chickens raised on commercial farms during the spring, as stated by AP. However, 48 million turkeys and chickens have already died due to the epidemic, affecting the production of USA eggs.
Due to the egg crisis, the USA Agricultural Department lowered its production forecast for table eggs this year to just under 6.9 billion, which is a drop of 5.3% from previous year. By late May, the price for a dozen Midwest large eggs had soared 120 percent from their mid-April, pre-bird flu prices to $2.62, industry analyst group Urner Barry said.
A senior vice president at the American Egg Board said the best situation is a year before the availability returns to normal, but it will likely take longer.
At Hi-Way Diner in Nebraska, owner Scott Walker said the surge in costs may force him to pass it along to his customers. The restaurant includes two eggs with every breakfast order, and offers an optional third egg for free.
The majority of eggs in local supermarkets come from local farms, and the furthest being from Pennsylvania.
Iowa, the nation’s egg leader, saw egg production fall 28 percent from year ago and 21 percent in a month as bird flu swept through flocks.
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An egg is cooked in a frying pan at the Waveland Cafe, Friday, June 19, 2015, in Des Moines, Iowa.
