With egg prices soaring to more than $10 a dozen in some parts of the country, shoppers have noticed one place where eggs are still relatively affordable: Trader Joe’s.
Eggs at the grocery chain are selling for an average of $3.49 a dozen as of the week of Feb. 11, according to The Krazy Coupon Lady blog, which tracks weekly egg prices at major retailers.
This falls well below the national average: As of January, the average cost of a dozen Grade A large eggs was $4.95, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
How is Trader Joe’s keeping egg prices down?
According to CNBC Make It, the chain buys directly from suppliers, has smaller product selection, and uses private-label brands to avoid markups.
The retailer also recently instituted an egg-buying limit of one dozen per person, per day, to control its supply.
“At Trader Joe’s we work hard every day to provide our customers outstanding value in the form of the best quality products at the best everyday prices,” Trader Joe’s spokesperson Nakia Rohde said in an email to TODAY.com when asked about its current egg prices. “We only change our prices when our costs change.”
Egg prices have been on the rise in recent months due to widespread outbreaks of avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu.
As of the first week of February, bird flu outbreaks had resulted in the loss of more than 21 million birds, according to the USDA’s weekly Egg Markets Overview.
There is “little chance for improvement in the near-term” in the availability of shell eggs as the bird flu “continues to impact productive flocks,” the USDA says.
Restaurants are also feeling the pressure of high egg prices. Earlier this month, Waffle House announced it would add a 50-cent surcharge on every egg it sells.
While there have been cases of humans contracting bird flu from an infected animal, there have been no documented cases in the U.S. of people getting sick after eating cooked poultry products.
To ensure eggs are safe to eat, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends cooking them to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
