"Egg suppliers held accountable with $17.7 million in damages for price gouging in the 2000s"

A federal jury in Illinois has ordered major egg producers to pay $17.7 million in damages, which will be tripled to over $53 million under federal law, for conspiring to limit the egg supply in the U.S. between 2004 and 2008. The jury found that the egg suppliers engaged in various tactics to increase egg prices, including exporting eggs abroad and reducing the number of chickens. Food manufacturers including Kraft Foods, Kellogg Company, General Mills, and Nestle USA joined as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The egg suppliers named in the lawsuit, including Cal-Maine Foods and Rose Acre Farms, have denied the claims and plan to appeal the verdict.