WASHINGTON, DC – For years U.S. Senator Jack Reed cried “fowl” over inflated egg prices and urged the federal government to ‘crack down’ on unfair, anti-competitive market manipulation by the ‘Big Egg’ industry.

And last year, after previously warning that industrial egg producers were feeding the American public a phony narrative about how and why egg prices spiked, Reed warned they could be using anti-competitive pricing tactics to force consumers and retailers to shell out more for eggs. Senator Reed also introduced the Ending Taxpayer Support for Big Egg Producers Act (S. 1904).

The five largest egg producers — Cal-Maine Foods, Rose Acre Farms, Daybreak Foods, Hillendale Farms, and Versova/Centrum Holdings — control nearly half of the U.S. egg-laying flock.

This week, two of the companies: Cal-Maine and Versova/Centrum were named in a nationwide multistate settlement in an egg price-fixing scheme that was announced between three egg companies and the U.S. Department of Justice and 17 state Attorneys General.

The proposed settlement, which must still be approved by the court, includes restitution being paid in the form of 53 million eggs being donated and $3.3 million in fines being paid.

Today, Senator Reed said that the egg price fixing settlement is a step forward, but doesn’t do enough to fix the broader issue and seems inadequate. Reed wants DOJ lawyers to show their math and be transparent about how they reached the final settlement figures. Reed issued the following statement:

“After years of calling for government probes and action, it is heartening to see that some industrial egg producers are being publicly named and shamed for manipulative practices. They did real economic damage to consumers and farmers across the country.

“While I appreciate the hard work of investigators and attorneys, it sounds like this settlement, though well-intentioned, could be ‘soft boiled’ and let bad actors off the hook too easy.”

Reed noted that during the egg price-spike period, Cal-Maine reported roughly $1.2 billion in profits – a four-fold increase over the previous year -- and it also took $44 million in U.S. taxpayer support through avian influenza compensation payments. But Cal-Maine’s share of the proposed settlement is only about $1.5 million and allows them to deny wrongdoing, despite the payment.

“Instead of a light slap on the wrist, the industry needs real reform and more transparency when it comes to pricing practices,” said Senator Reed. “American consumers should not have to pay unfairly high prices due to anticompetitive behaviors. We’ve seen how factory farms and big agri-businesses try to distort prices while manipulating public opinion too. They tried to blame ‘eggflation’ on animal welfare standards and avian influenza when the real root cause seems to be flat out greed and collusion. Congress should take concrete steps to help lower prices, protect consumers and small businesses, and ensure fairness in the marketplace.

“Weak settlements leave taxpayers holding the bag and picking up the majority of the tab. Congress should pass my Ending Taxpayer Support for Big Egg Producers Act to prevent these companies from taking taxpayer dollars and using it for things like stock buybacks while consumers get gouged. Profitable egg producers raking in billions shouldn’t need taxpayer subsidies. And if big companies see they can rake in tens of millions of dollars in profit by manipulating markets and get away with paying minimal fines at just a fraction of what they are making, then more bad actors could follow suit. There has got to be more transparency and accountability going forward. And we have to take a hard look at the costly role of industry consolidation to consumers and our food system.”