US egg producers near settlement over price coordination probe
Cal-Maine and rivals face civil penalties and 50M egg donation
26 June 2026
1 minute read
By: Cal-Maine Foods and other US egg suppliers are close to resolving a Justice Department investigation into alleged illegal price coordination, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter, according to Reuters.
Cal-Maine, Hickman's Egg Ranch and Versova are all nearing settlements under which the companies would pay several million dollars in civil penalties and donate more than 50 million eggs, while agreeing to stop exchanging prices and other competitively sensitive information, Bloomberg reported.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit in April alleging the egg producers coordinated pricing through an industry price-benchmarking service, the Wall Street Journal reported. The probe involved a bipartisan group of states alongside the federal government.
The Justice Department, Cal-Maine Foods, Hickman's Egg Ranch and Versova did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
US egg producers have faced a growing wave of class-action lawsuits accusing them of price-fixing amid consumer frustration over rising food costs. Egg prices have surged in recent years after bird flu outbreaks wiped out millions of laying hens, triggering supply shortages.
