By Bo Erickson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The high price of eggs and whether producers have conspired to raise prices is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter.
The department’s probe is in its early stages and is looking into whether producers have held back supply to increase costs, the Journal reported.
It was unclear if the civil or criminal authorities are leading the investigation, the report said.
The department declined to comment to the Journal and also declined Reuters’ request for comment.
The Trump administration has tried to address the rising egg prices — a record $4.95 per dozen at the beginning of the year, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics — and ongoing cases of bird flu by rebuilding a stockpile of vaccines for the virus.
In some large U.S. cities, the price for a dozen eggs has spiked to $10 a dozen.
About 163 million chickens, turkeys and other birds have died from the virus or been culled to contain its spread since the U.S. poultry outbreak began in 2022, according to the USDA.
(Reporting by Bo Erickson; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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