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Tag: outbreak

  • Egg farmers facing the ‘worst bird flu outbreak’ in ‘history,’ industry leader fears

    Egg farmers facing the ‘worst bird flu outbreak’ in ‘history,’ industry leader fears

    Vice president of Eggs Unlimited Brian Moscogiuri explains why egg prices will continue to soar as the bird flu outbreak slows production. 

    American farmers and those in the agricultural business continue to reel over the spread of H5N1 bird flu, which apparently shows no sign of slowing to “disaster” status.

    “The real crisis is that we’re going through the worst bird flu outbreak that we’ve had in the last 10 years since 2015, potentially the worst bird flu outbreak that we’ve ever had in the history of this country,” Eggs Unlimited Vice President Brian Moscogiuri said on “Fox & Friends” Thursday.

    “We’ve lost 120 million birds since the beginning of 2022. In the last few months alone, since the middle of October, we’ve lost 45 million egg-laying hens,” he added. “We’ve lost a significant amount of production, more than 13%. So we’re just dealing with supply shortages. And it’s just a disaster right now because this virus is in three of the top egg-laying states in the country. It doesn’t seem like it’s stopping anytime soon.”

    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bird flu detections have been made in dairy cattle, wild birds, poultry flocks and other mammals, while 68 human cases have been confirmed as well as one death.

    EGG PRICES AREN’T COMING DOWN ANYTIME SOON, EXPERTS SAY

    Companies recently started imposing limits on egg sales as the shortage caused by outbreaks persists, causing a frenzy among shoppers. Droves of viral videos have surfaced in recent weeks, showing shoppers stockpiling eggs. One video posted on TikTok claimed that an entire section of eggs at a Costco was gone in less than 10 minutes.

    A grocery store worker rearranges items in the depleted egg section on January 23, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Getty Images)

    Other grocery and restaurant chains like Trader Joe’s, Korger, Whole Foods and Waffle House have been limiting customer purchases or adding egg surcharges as the nationwide supply dwindles.

    “We’re just trying to figure out, and the farmers are trying to figure out, how the virus is getting in… there’s several different catalysts, including wild migratory birds that have been flying over the country in the fall, in the spring each year… And we’re also wondering, is it in the ground? Is it in the air on these farms? Some of these farms that have been able to clean out and are working on repopulating have actually been hit again,” Moscogiuri said.

    Carlo’s Bakery owner Buddy Valastro opens up about the soaring price of eggs on ‘The Claman Countdown.’

    “The farms really need help in identifying where the virus is coming in from, and then,” he expanded, “solutions to stopping the virus so that they can repopulate, resupply and ultimately help to bring the egg prices back down.”

    Since January, average egg prices have risen 15% and are up 53% year-over-year, data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Bureau of Labor Statistics shows.

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    White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday that the high prices of eggs is directly related to a lack of chicken supply which the Biden administration contributed to.

    Eggs Unlimited is one of the largest international suppliers of eggs, servicing major retailers, distributors and food service companies while also serving as a sort of egg “broker,” according to Moscogiuri. 

    Business is understandably “difficult” right now, he said. 

    “There’s less eggs available. Right now, we’re really focused on making sure that our customers are getting the orders and their supply, and making sure that they have eggs on their shelves. For consumers, [we’re] trying to limit their impact with the pricing and the supply chain shortages that we’re currently seeing right now.”

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    FOX Business’ Daniella Genovese contributed to this report.

  • McDonald’s takes massive sales hit from E. Coli outbreak

    McDonald’s takes massive sales hit from E. Coli outbreak

    Former McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner analyzes the state of fast food industry as the U.S. economy slows on ‘The Claman Countdown.’

    McDonald’s sales took a significant hit in its latest quarter due to an E. coli outbreak linked to slivered onions that killed one person and sent over two dozen to the hospital.

    CEO Chris Kempczinski told analysts during an earnings call on Monday that sales at U.S. stores slipped 1.4% during the fourth quarter, which was largely attributed to the “impact of the E. coli outbreak linked to slivered onions on our Quarter Pounders.” 

    The company reported revenue of $6.39 billion, missing Wall Street estimates of $6.44 billion. 

    Federal health officials declared that the outbreak was “closed” in December, after illnesses emerged in late October. There were 104 confirmed cases of the E. coli O157:H7 strain across 14 states, with hospitalizations climbing to 34. Four victims had developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious condition that can cause kidney failure, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). One death was linked to the outbreak early on, the CDC said. 

    GROCER WEIGHS IN ON DEADLY BOAR’S HEAD RECALL SHIFTING HOW CONSUMERS SHOP IN STORES

    The raw onions served as a topping on Quarter Pounders were found to be the likely source of the outbreak after beef was ruled out. The agency said it has completed inspections at the Colorado processing plant of Taylor Farms, which supplied recalled onions to McDonald’s, and an unnamed onion farm in Washington state.

    A Quarter Pounder hamburger is served at a McDonald’s restaurant. (Scott Olson/Getty Images / Getty Images)

    Upon discovery of the outbreak, McDonald’s removed Quarter Pounders from the menu at 900 of its restaurants in the impacted areas and stopped purchasing onions processed at Taylor Farms’ Colorado Springs facility.

    Executives said that the company had been seeing “strong sales” during the first few weeks of October before the outbreak emerged. 

    In the fourth quarter, while there was slightly positive traffic at U.S. stores, the company said customers were spending less. Part of the issue was that its Quarter Pounder was “a high margin” item, according to executives. 

    Kempczinski said the E. coli impact is now “localized to the areas that had the biggest impact.” 

    California McDonald's restaurant

    A sign is posted in front of a McDonald’s restaurant on April 28, 2022, in San Leandro, California.  (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Getty Images)

    “Think about that as sort of the Rocky Mountain region. That was really the epicenter of the issue. And that continues to be down versus where we were heading into that impact,” he said, adding that the impact is contained to that region. 

    80,000 POUNDS OF COSTCO BUTTER RECALLED FOR LACKING DISCLAIMER ABOUT MILK

    The company expects to have fully recovered from the food safety issues by the beginning of the fiscal second quarter. 

    Following the outbreak, executives said the company invested in “value, affordability and obviously in digital offers to get consumers back” and regain trust. 

    Ticker Security Last Change Change %
    MCD MCDONALD’S CORP. 308.59 +14.26 +4.84%

    McDonald’s plans to further enhance its value programs in the first quarter “to ensure that we are offering industry leading value and with good value at the foundation.” 

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    Still, CFO Ian Borden told analysts that its approach to 2025 “reflects the current environment of softer, declining restaurant industry traffic in the U.S. and many of our larger markets.”