{"id":2604,"date":"2026-07-02T10:05:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T10:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2604"},"modified":"2026-07-02T10:05:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T10:05:13","slug":"3-companies-allegedly-helped-inflate-egg-prices-now-nc-will-get-3-million-eggs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2604","title":{"rendered":"3 companies allegedly helped inflate egg prices. Now, NC will get 3 million eggs"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Justice Department and attorneys general of 17 states including North Carolina have reached settlements with three companies accused of illegally raising egg prices.<\/p>\n

Read more TMZ\u2019s Harvey Levin Addresses Report Calling Nancy Guthrie Ransom Notes Fake<\/a><\/p>\n

If the settlements are approved by the court, the companies would donate 53 million eggs to nonprofit organizations and food banks in states involved in the settlement and pay the states $3.3 million, according to court documents<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Of the 53 million donated eggs, about 3 million would go to organizations in North Carolina<\/a>, according to a news release from Attorney General Jeff Jackson. How the eggs will be distributed is still being developed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese egg producers worked together to game the system so they could charge more for eggs. That\u2019s against the law,\u201d Jackson said in the news release. \u201cThis settlement makes sure they can\u2019t rig the market anymore, and food banks in our state will get millions of eggs to help feed people who are hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is at least the second food-related antitrust settlement that North Carolina has been involved with in recent months. In May, the attorney general shared news of a settlement that would prevent processors from coordinating higher prices<\/a> for chicken, pork and turkey.<\/p>\n

The three companies named in the complaint \u2014 Cal-Maine Foods, Hickman\u2019s Egg Ranch and Versova \u2014 produce and sell eggs to businesses including grocery stores and restaurants.<\/p>\n

When there\u2019s a shortage or surplus of eggs, they can submit bids to purchase eggs or offers to sell them on electronic exchanges such as Egg Clearinghouse.<\/p>\n

Market reporting company Urner Barry analyzes, aggregates and anonymizes market information, publishing daily price quotations based on bids, offers and executed trades.<\/p>\n

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Egg producers, including the companies named in the complaint, then use those Urner Barry quotes when creating contracts to sell their eggs to buyers \u2014 specifically, grocery stores and restaurants. If these buyers are paying more for eggs, grocery shoppers and consumers are likely paying more, too.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s where the companies allegedly broke the law: Between June 2022 and March 2025, they coordinated their efforts and submitted large numbers of bids to Egg Clearinghouse at agreed-upon prices and times.<\/p>\n

For example, one day in October 2022, an executive at Cal-Maine texted the Hickman\u2019s CEO to encourage them to help stop prices from falling. Both companies submitted bids, and by the end of the day, theirs accounted for more than half of the bids submitted. Urner Barry\u2019s prices remained the same, so the executives\u2019 efforts seemed to have worked.<\/p>\n

The three companies also agreed to trades that weren\u2019t completed on Egg Clearinghouse at premium prices \u2014 prices meant to suggest that Urner Barry\u2019s are too low \u2014 and then reported the purchase orders to Urner Barry, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

The states involved in the settlements, eligible for monetary payments or egg donations, are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Wisconsin, as well as North Carolina.<\/p>\n

As part of the settlements, the companies would also have to stop communicating information about bids and transactions, except those related to legitimate business needs, cooperate with state and federal oversight, and comply with policies meant to prevent future anticompetitive activities.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published July 2, 2026 at 5:45 AM<\/span> with the headline “3 companies allegedly helped inflate egg prices. Now, NC will get 3 million eggs.” <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Three companies were accused of coordinating to manipulate information that helps set prices of eggs. Here\u2019s what the settlements would mean for North Carolina.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2603,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\n3 companies allegedly helped inflate egg prices. 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