Food banks across Texas will receive over seven million free eggs after Attorney General Ken Paxton alongside other state attorneys general and the Department of Justice secured a settlement with three egg companies, which were accused of purposefully manipulating consumer prices.
Texas, along with 16 other states, filed suit against Cal-Maine Foods, Centrum/Versova, and Hickman’s Egg Ranch, alleging they conspired to inflate egg prices between 2022 to 2025. This was discovered during an investigation conducted with the U.S. Department of Justice and other partners.
Details from the investigation revealed that the three companies had allegedly conspired to coordinate their bidding in a way that would influence daily egg price quotes published by a benchmark pricing service company Urner Barry. Urner Barry prices are used in egg supply contracts with retailers and the food service industry.
According to Paxton, an example of this occurred when an executive from Hickman’s Egg Ranch urged executives from Cal-Maine Foods and Centrum/Versova “to submit aggressive, repeated bids” to push egg prices higher. All three companies did this, causing Urner Barry to raise its price quotes. This led to the companies causing an artificial rise to the cost of eggs for Texas consumers.
“These three major egg producers conspired to profit off antitrust violations that ultimately raised the prices of eggs for Americans,” stated Paxton. “Now, they will have to donate over 7 million eggs to food banks across Texas. This settlement serves as another reform that we have secured to prevent price gouging and unlawful conduct that hurts Americans and their wallets.”
Under the agreement, the companies will also pay out $3.3 million to the states involved in the lawsuits, stop their illegal conduct, and implement safeguards to prevent similar misconduct. Specifically, this will require each company to appoint compliance officers who will oversee adherence to the lawsuit and report any violations to the attorney general’s office, the DOJ, and other “participating states.”
The other states involved are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
Paxton secured another settlement with Cal-Maine Foods this past January. Paxton alleged the company illegally raised the cost of eggs by 300 percent, resulting in the donation of more than two million eggs to food banks across the state.
