Kellogg’s, General Mills, Nestle USA and Kraft Heinz are seeking more than $110m in damages from US egg producers accused of artificially inflating prices.
In recently revised guidance on ‘healthy’ label claims, the FDA changed its stance on total fat, but it should also make other changes in order to allow nutrient-dense foods such as eggs to be marketed as ‘healthy,’ says United Egg Producers.
It could be one to two years before the US egg industry is firing on all cylinders again following the latest avian flu outbreak, says United Egg Producers, a co-op which owns 95% of the nation’s egg-laying hens.
Foodservice giant Sodexo has pledged to switch the sourcing of all of the 39 million shelled eggs that it uses each year to cage-free hens by July 2014.
A federal judge has given final approval to a $25m settlement from Land O’ Lakes and its subsidiaries Moark LLC and Norco Ranch over alleged egg price fixing.
Proposed legislation to formalize an agreement over welfare conditions for egg laying hens been criticized by farmers for involving the politics of animal welfare, and an animal welfare organization for endorsing “abusive confinement systems”.
A bipartisan group of Representatives has proposed a bill aiming to standardize improved conditions for egg laying hens across the country, in an effort to avoid a patchwork of state laws.
A group of the biggest packaged food companies in the United States has filed a lawsuit against major US egg producers, accusing them of fixing prices for at least a decade.
A partial settlement in the class action over egg price fixing has been reached with three of the defendants, Land O’Lakes and subsidiaries Moark LLC and Norco Ranch, according to one of the law firm representing the plaintiffs.
A rise in the cost of eggs could in part be down to collusion within the food industry as Federal prosecutors are called on to investigate claims of possible price fixing.
