Three companies have agreed to provide millions of eggs to food banks and nonprofits throughout the country, including 3.4 million to some in Pennsylvania, as part of a settlement to resolve allegations of price manipulation.
The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office, in a joint investigation with the U.S. Department of Justice and other state attorneys general, found that Cal-Maine Foods, Verosa/Centrum and Hickman’s Egg Ranch illegally coordinated for years to influence the daily price index for eggs, which led to artificially increased prices for retailers and consumers, Pennsylvania AG Dave Sunday said in a news release.
Investigators determined that between June 2022 and March 2025, the egg producers secretly communicated with each other to coordinate their bidding activity and influence the daily egg price published by Urner Barry, a pricing service used in egg supply contracts, the release states.
The AG’s office said Hickman’s CEO emailed executives at the other two companies in December 2022 urging them to submit “strong bids, early and often,” to push prices higher. All three submitted dozens of bids at higher prices, which led to Urner Barry increasing its price quotes, according to the release.
“By manipulating the Urner Barry benchmark, the companies artificially inflated the price of eggs paid by retailers and consumers across the nation,” the release states.
As part of the settlement, the companies must end their coordination to manipulate prices, implement compliance measures to prevent further violations, and cooperate with oversight from participating states, the AG’s office said. The companies must designate an antitrust compliance officer who will monitor compliance and report violations to the state and the DOJ, authorities said.
Additionally, the companies agreed to donate 53 million eggs to food banks and nonprofits at the participating states, which in addition to Pennsylvania include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Wisconsin, officials said. The companies will also pay $3.3 million to the states, according to the AG’s office.