Walmart limits egg purchases: Here’s how many you can buy
Retailers have started limiting the number of eggs customers can purchase amid the deadly avian flu that’s wiping out chickens across the country.
Walmart is one of the latest stores to put a cap on how many eggs you can buy in a single purchase. CNBC reports the retail giant is limiting customers to two-60 count cartons per purchase, “to help ensure more customers can have access to eggs.”
“Although supply is very tight, we’re working with suppliers to try and help meet customer demand, while striving to keep prices as low as possible,” a spokesman confirmed to CNBC.
Egg prices have more than doubled as farmers have been forced to slaughter millions of chickens. NBC News reports the average price for a dozen eggs in the U.S. has increased 50% in the past year, and stores aren’t the only businesses feeling the squeeze.
Atlanta-based restaurant chain Waffle House has added a surcharge of 50 cents per egg to offset the hike.
“The continuing egg shortage caused by HPAI (bird flu) has caused a dramatic increase in egg prices,” Waffle House said in a statement to CNN. “Customers and restaurants are being forced to make difficult decisions.”
While Cracker Barrel hasn’t increased the prices of its menu items, the chain has taken another route in response — offering patrons double the reward points for ordering dishes with eggs.
Last year, confirmation of avian flu at a Cullman County commercial broiler farm and a backyard flock in Pickens County resulted in the slaughter of more than 100,000 birds. The majority of the birds in the flock were chickens.