NCC urges FDA to allow broiler eggs to fight inflation

​The National Chicken Council (NCC) petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reverse or modify a regulation that requires the broiler industry to discard safe, nutritious eggs amid record egg prices driven by the ongoing highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak.
“With government risk assessments affirming their safety, and the fact that surplus broiler hatching eggs would be pasteurized, we respectfully request FDA to immediately exercise its enforcement discretion to allow these eggs to be sent for breaking, helping to ease costs and inflationary pressures for consumers,” said Ashley Peterson, NCC senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs.
NCC previously petitioned the FDA during the current HPAI outbreak, but the Biden administration rejected the request in 2023. The council estimated that granting the exemption would release nearly 400 million eggs annually into the egg-breaking supply, preserving table eggs for consumer use.
Peterson said the move would not immediately lower egg prices but could help stabilize supply. “It’s just common sense we shouldn’t be throwing away eggs at a time like this, especially when the government says they’re safe,” she said.
NCC expressed willingness to work with the Trump administration to advance policies that address inflation and high food prices, including an exemption to the FDA’s Shell Egg Rule.