The price of a dozen eggs has come down for the third week in a row, a welcome development for cash-strapped consumers at the grocery store, but there’s still much work to be done to ensure the cost stays low for American families and businesses in the future. While Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has laid out a five-point plan to address high prices amid outbreaks of the avian flu, both in the short and long term, lawmakers are coming up with their own plan to help bring egg prices down.
Reps. Pat Harrigan (R-NC) and Josh Riley (D-NY) introduced the “Lowering Egg Prices Act” that would repeal outdated FDA regulation they argue has not only increased the price of eggs but has also wasted hundreds of millions of usable eggs every year.
The bill overturns the 2009 Shell Egg Rule, allowing these eggs to be processed safely and efficiently, increasing supply and lowering costs for consumers. […]
In 2009, the FDA required shell eggs to be refrigerated at 45°F within 36 hours to reduce salmonella risk. The rule was originally meant for grocery store eggs, but it was later expanded to include broiler eggs, which come from chickens raised for meat. Before this change, broiler eggs were safely pasteurized and used in processed foods. This unnecessary requirement now forces the disposal of 400 million usable eggs each year, driving up prices and limiting supply. […]
The Lowering Egg Prices Act reverses the FDA rule and allows broiler eggs to be sold to breaking facilities once again, ensuring that millions of eggs reach the market instead of the trash. It also directs the FDA and USDA to issue a replacement rule within 180 days to establish a more efficient and practical regulatory framework. (Congressman Harrigan)
“The FDA’s rule is a textbook example of government overreach making life more expensive for hardworking Americans,” Harrigan said in a statement. “For 15 years, this unnecessary regulation has forced businesses to throw away 400 million perfectly good eggs every single year. That’s over 6 billion eggs wasted—eggs that should have gone to breakfast tables, school lunches, and food banks. There is no public health benefit here, just pure bureaucratic nonsense that’s driving up costs. This bill stops the waste, lowers prices, and restores common sense.”
