Cracking The Myths: The Truth About Avian Flu, Egg Safety And What Consumers Should Know

Forbes

17-04-2025

Fears about avian influenza have moved faster than pasture-raised hens in search of the juiciest worms.
The outbreak has been blamed for high egg prices and supply shortages while also raising concerns that it might not be safe to eat eggs.
But consumers shouldn't have to look hard for facts.
Although avian influenza is a serious disease for birds, significant safeguards are in place to make sure that eggs from infected chickens don't reach store shelves.
With help from Cameron Whitehead, the chief operating officer at Pete & Gerry's, we've identified and busted five bird flu myths to help you make an informed decision when buying your next carton.
Avian influenza is a contagious, viral disease that causes symptoms in birds ranging from tremors and misshapen eggs to sudden death. It's spread when chickens come into contact with infected birds or through contaminated water, feed and equipment.
Although avian influenza is a serious disease for birds, significant safeguards are in place to make sure that eggs from infected chickens don't reach store shelves. In fact, the chances of it happening are 'almost zero,' Whitehead says.
Farms will test their hens 'even with the slightest hint of disease,' he explains. 'And if a flock tests positive, all eggs that were created by that flock are destroyed.'
Your omelet is safe. Cooking eggs to an internal temperature of 165 degrees kills viruses, including avian influenza, so go ahead and make eggs however you like them.
Handling eggs is safe, too. There is no evidence that eggshells can transmit avian influenza. It is important, however, to follow recommended food handling practices that include storing eggs in the refrigerator and washing your hands and utensils with hot, soapy water after touching raw eggs.
While prices for a dozen eggs have reached record highs, Pete & Gerry's has not raised the price of its premium, free-range and pasture-raised eggs in two years. This also goes for its sister brand, Nellie's Free Range Eggs.
Whitehead credits the company's family farm model for providing stable prices and a reliable supply chain. The New Hampshire-based Certified B Corporation works with almost 300 family farms in 15 states to produce premium eggs, all of which are Certified Humane. The rigorous, third-party certification guarantees that hens are raised without confinement in conditions that allow them to express natural behaviors like dustbathing, perching and roaming outdoors.
On commodity farms, however, chickens are housed in cages or barns with up to 400,000 birds, and each farm can have upwards of 10 barns, he explained. If a single bird is infected with avian influenza, all of the birds on site must be culled, causing egg supplies to go down dramatically and prices to go up.
'Our diversification means that, although [avian influenza] is a tragedy, any impacts have such a minimal overall supply/demand change for us,' Whitehead adds. 'Our pricing has been able to remain very stable.'
On Pete & Gerry's family farms, hens roam outside where they can express natural behaviors.
It's not uncommon to see empty shelves that should be filled with egg cartons — but avian influenza may be only partly to blame. While the virus has put a significant dent in the supplies of caged and cage-free eggs, causing price hikes, inflation and the increasing cost of chicken feed and other inputs have also made eggs more expensive.
Since 2020, the cost to care for livestock has increased 28%, and farmers are spending more on animal feed, marketing, storage and transportation to get eggs to stores. Food inflation, meanwhile, has increased faster than historic averages.
Even though Pete & Gerry's is susceptible to rising input costs and inflation like any egg producer, the company hasn't passed those costs on to consumers. Whitehead credits 'the company finding efficiencies and working hard … to make sure that we can keep costs where they are, even with the rising tide of inflation.'
The availability and stable pricing of premium eggs during the outbreak has led many consumers to crack their first one. Once people see the deep orange yolks, firm egg whites and taste the superior flavor, many switch over for good.
'They feel good about what they're buying, feel good about supporting a family farm network, and they feel good about the quality of the product,' Whitehead adds. 'When you do that math, it's one of the easiest places to invest in animal welfare and support family farms.'
Free-range and pasture-raised hens have access to outdoor spaces to forage for worms in the grass, take dust baths and feel the sunshine on their feathers. Access to the outdoors isn't just associated with better animal welfare; it also appears to protect chickens from avian influenza.
The latest data shows that almost 100% of avian influenza outbreaks occurred at farms that housed chickens in cages or in cage-free environments while just 0.1% of outbreaks were on organic farms where chickens were raised in free-range or pasture-raised environments.
'Locking your birds into cages, into large prison-like structures, is not helping you with any of your biosecurity concerns,' Whitehead says. 'Our farmers are actually the best stewards of biosecurity because they have such a vested interest in the health of their birds and success of that flock.'