Companies will donate 53 million eggs to settle price inflation allegations. (Rachel Lerman, WaPo, July 1, 2026)

From The Washington Post: 

Companies will donate 53 million eggs to settle price inflation allegations

Three egg producers were accused of working together to manipulate prices.

Three companies will donate millions of eggs to food banks and community organizations around the country. (Tony Gutierrez/AP)

By Rachel Lerman, Washington Post

July 1, 2026

Three egg producer companies will donate 53 million eggs to states around the country as part of a deal to settle allegations that they worked together to inflate the price of the shelled protein. 

The Justice Department reached settlement agreements with Cal-Maine Foods, Versova Holdings and Hickman’s Egg Ranch. As part of the deals, which must be approved by a court, the companies will donate millions of eggs to food banks and community organizations. New York, one of the states to join the suit, said it would get nearly 5 million eggs to distribute. The companies did not admit wrongdoing.

The lawsuit alleges that the companies worked together to manipulate the price of eggs by submitting bids that were designed to push up prices.

Egg prices spiked in late 2022 and early 2023, and again early last year. Before long, rising egg prices became synonymous with an inflation-ridden economy, irking consumers and making their way into President Donald Trump’s rhetoric. 

Much of the price increases could be traced back to the outbreak of the avian flu, which forced many companies to slaughter hens. Egg producers, including Cal-Maine, collectively received tens of millions of dollars in relief from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.