National Chicken Council petitions government with proposal to tackle US egg shortage in wake of bird flu

The National Chicken Council (NCC) has petitioned the US government to “reverse or modify” a regulation that forces the broiler industry — chickens raised for meat — to discard “perfectly nutritious” and “safe” eggs. The trade association says its plan could release millions of eggs annually into the supply chain.

The average price for a dozen eggs in the US has risen by more than 60% in the last year, mainly due to the avian flu outbreaks, which have hit the chicken population and reduced supplies. More than 150 million birds have been affected since February 2022, with around 13 million birds dying or slaughtered since December 2024, according to government figures.

“With government risk assessments affirming their safety, and the fact that surplus broiler hatching eggs would be pasteurized (cooked), we respectfully request the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to immediately exercise its enforcement discretion to allow these eggs to be sent for breaking, helping to ease costs and inflationary pressures for consumers,” says Ashley Peterson, NCC senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs.

Relieve pressure on the industry

The NCC says its proposal would release almost 400 million eggs into the egg-breaking supply each year, preventing table eggs from being used as ingredients in salad dressings, bread, cake mix, and many other everyday food products. 

“Is this a silver bullet that will bring down the cost of eggs tomorrow? No,” Peterson says. “But it is one option that could be part of a broader plan to help relieve some pressure on the egg supply as the situation worsens. And it’s just common sense. We shouldn’t be throwing away eggs at a time like this, especially when the government says they’re safe.”

“We are eager to work with the Trump administration to advance policies that provide relief to American consumers who are struggling with inflation and high food prices, including record egg prices exacerbated by the HPAI outbreak. An exemption to the FDA’s ‘Shell Egg Rule’ will do just that,” Peterson adds.

According to the NCC, broiler hatcheries sometimes have leftover eggs due to fluctuating market conditions. These are known as “surplus” hatching eggs. Before 2009, broiler producers could sell these surplus eggs to egg processors, known as “breakers,” to be pasteurized (cooked) and used in egg products.

However, an FDA regulation introduced in 2009 prohibited this from happening. The NCC estimates that more than 5.4 billion eggs have been wasted and sent to landfills since the rule was implemented, at a cost to the broiler industry of US$27 million annually—a total of US$350 million.

“The FDA never suggested these surplus broiler eggs were unsafe or that pasteurization was ineffective. The FDA rule focuses on table eggs, which are raw products and present a very different risk profile than pasteurized surplus broiler eggs,” the NCC adds in a statement.