Police are scrambling. They can’t crack the case. It’s a Grade A mystery. But hopefully they catch whoever poached the eggs.
OK, that’s out of our systems.
Police in Pennsylvania are investigating after someone stole 100,000 organic eggs valued at about $40,000 US ($57,000 Cdn), off the back of a distribution trailer last Saturday. Local law enforcement told the Associated Press the heist could be linked to the sky-high cost of eggs — an issue which has been plaguing the U.S. in the midst of an avian flu outbreak.
According to the police report, on Feb. 1, Pennsylvania State Police responded to a call at Pete & Gerry’s Organics in Antrim Township. The organic egg supplier reported the 100,000 eggs were stolen off the back of a distribution trailer around 8:40 PM.
The theft is still under investigation and there have been no arrests, Trooper Megan Frazer, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police, told CBC News. She added the motive is unknown.
“It could be to sell them or even for vandalizing purposes. When it comes down to it, we don’t know,” Frazer said.Â
“This is definitely a unique incident, especially with the large quantity of eggs that were stolen.”
In a statement to CBC News, Pete & Gerry’s said they’re actively working with local law enforcement to investigate.Â
“We take this matter seriously and are committed to resolving it as quickly as possible,” the company said.Â
They added they’re increasing their security and surveillance to help prevent this from happening again.
Egg prices soaring in U.S.
Bird flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, pushing U.S. egg prices to more than double their cost in the summer of 2023.
The average price per dozen eggs nationwide hit $4.15 US, or around $5.92 Cdn, in December. By comparison, in Canada the price of a dozen eggs was about $4.75 Cdn in December, according to Statistics Canada.
People in California were paying about $8.85 US — more than $12 Cdn — for a dozen eggs in December, according to the commodity data firm Expana.
Americans have been posting photos of eggs on shelves, in some cases reaching double-digit retail prices per dozen, and comparing them to lower Canadian prices, though prices vary by store and region in both countries.Â
Some store shelves are bare, and the ubiquitous breakfast restaurant Waffle House has imposed a 50-cent surcharge per egg, multiple media have reported.
In its 2025 food outlook summary, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says eggs “are the most volatile category” they track. The department notes the prices for farm-level eggs spiked 54.3 per cent in November. In December, prices were 134.5 per cent higher than December 2023.
They predict farm-level egg prices will increase 45.2 per cent this year. Experts have previously told CBC News that Canada will probably not see a similar spike, due to its smaller farms and resilient supply management system.
Food theft on the rise
There have been a number of major food-related heists recently, which some analysts have linked to rising food prices.
The annual global cost of illicit trade and fraud in the food sector is estimated between $30 billion and $50 billion US, according to a recent report by the World Trade Organization. As Bloomberg points out, years of rising prices have made food and drink items “a lucrative target for criminals.”
Just last week, Peel Regional Police in Ontario charged six people as part of an ongoing investigation into large-scale butter and ghee thefts in the area. Police say there has been a large increase in reported butter thefts at grocery stores in the region, with losses of more than $60,000.
The cheese world is still reeling after a U.K. cheese heist in the fall that saw con artists make off with more than £300,000 (or more than $540,000 Cdn) in clothbound, award-winning cheddar. A 63-year-old man was recently arrested and released on bail.Â
In November of last year, B.C. RCMP revealed they’d recently foiled an attempted cheese heist at a Whole Foods in North Vancouver. They’d been on patrol Sept. 29, 2024, when they found a cart full of cheese outside the grocery store. A suspect fled on foot, leaving $12,800 worth of cheese behind.
The same month, thieves stole 400 legs of ham in Spain, worth almost $300,000 Cdn.
Police in Guelph, Ont., say there have been seven ‘large-scale’ butter thefts over the last 10 months, including two in October. The most recent cases resulted in losses of more than $900 each.