New York food banks will receive nearly 5 million eggs as part of a multistate settlement with three major egg producers accused of illegally coordinating to raise egg prices, Attorney General Letitia James announced Monday.
The first shipment — more than 280,000 eggs — was delivered to City Harvest in Brooklyn. The eggs will be distributed to New Yorkers facing food insecurity, with additional deliveries continuing statewide through mid-October.
Settlement resolves price-fixing allegations
According to James' office, a multistate investigation led by the New York Attorney General's Office, the U.S. Department of Justice and attorneys general from 16 other states found that Cal-Maine Foods, Versova/Centrum and Hickman's Egg Ranch coordinated their bidding activity to influence a widely used
daily egg price index.
Investigators said the companies manipulated benchmark prices used in egg supply contracts, artificially increasing the prices paid by retailers and consumers nationwide.
The companies did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
Under the agreement, the three egg producers will provide 53 million eggs to food banks and nonprofit organizations across participating states, including 4,968,000 eggs to New York. They also will pay a combined $3.3 million and adopt compliance measures intended to prevent future antitrust violations.
First shipment delivered to Brooklyn
The first New York delivery included 280,800 eggs — or 23,400 cartons containing a dozen eggs each — delivered to City Harvest in Brooklyn.
The remaining egg deliveries will be distributed through Feeding New York, the statewide network of food banks, and are expected to continue through mid-October.
City Harvest CEO Jilly Stephens said eggs are among the organization's most requested food items and that the shipment will help feed more than 20,000 New Yorkers.
Attorney general: Consumers paid higher prices
"It is unacceptable that New Yorkers paid higher prices for eggs because these companies were working together behind the scenes to raise prices," James said in a statement. "My office has zero tolerance for big corporations breaking the law to boost their profits at the expense of working families."
The settlement also includes Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Wisconsin.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: NY to receive nearly 5 million eggs after egg price-fixing settlement
