US Egg Producers Settlement Requires 53 Million Egg Donation

The U.S. Department of Justice reached a settlement with three egg producers—Cal‑Maine Foods, Versova and Hickman's Egg Ranch—over alleged price‑fixing that inflated daily egg price quotations from June 2022 to March 2025. The companies are accused of coordinating bids to the Urner Barry index, a benchmark that determines egg prices for grocery stores and restaurants nationwide.

Under the agreement announced on June 30 2026, the firms will donate 53 million eggs to food banks in 17 states and pay $3.3 million to affected states. Cal‑Maine, the only publicly traded company among them, will contribute $1.5 million, roughly 0.12 % of its 2025 net profit. New York Attorney General Letitia James highlighted the “unconscionable” collusion that raised egg prices, which peaked at $8.47 for a dozen in February 2025 amid avian‑flu‑related supply shocks. The first delivery of 280,280 eggs arrived in Brooklyn, with New York slated to receive about 5 million of the total donation.