Cal-Maine, Versova and Hickman’s Settle Egg Price Claims With DOJ and States
The Justice Department and 17 states have reached proposed settlements with three major egg producers accused of coordinating to inflate egg price benchmarks during a period of high grocery costs.
The civil complaint targets Cal-Maine Foods, Hickman’s Egg Ranch and Versova-related entities. Federal officials allege the companies coordinated bidding activity tied to Urner Barry price quotations, a benchmark used in contracts affecting prices paid by grocery stores, restaurants and other egg buyers. The DOJ says billions of eggs are sold each year using prices influenced by those quotations.
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Under the state settlement terms, the companies would collectively provide $3.3 million and donate 53 million eggs to food banks and nonprofits. The proposed federal settlements would also bar certain competitor communications, require antitrust compliance programs and impose oversight if approved by the court.
The companies did not admit wrongdoing, and Cal-Maine has denied the allegations.
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