Avian flu & eggs: expert insights for hospitality operators

Eggs: The Entegra | Michael Foods Interview

The impact of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) on eggs and poultry continues to make news – and influence many businesses' bottom lines.

According to Entegra’s February 2025 Program and Pricing Update:

• Eggs have seen an increase of roughly 203% year over year due to the latest Avian Flu outbreak; it continues to impact flocks.
• In December, 12.5 million egg layers were lost, bringing the total 2024 loss to 38.7 million.
• Lower-than-average hatchability rates will continue to put pressure on pricing into 2025.

Read more in our free guide: Entegra egg outlook: Avian influenza in review

Michael Foods: An insider’s take on eggs

Entegra connected with Michael Food’s Adam T. Weatherell, Director, Non-Commercial and Distribution, with questions our clients regularly ask about eggs.

As of today, what are you seeing regarding egg supply and demand regarding Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI)?

Unfortunately, HPAI has tightened supply across the country once again in late 2024 into 2025. This time around, a higher percentage of cage-free farms have been impacted, driving historical highs for California market eggs (i.e. cage-free).

On the demand side, we’ve seen a significant shift in demand away from traditional shell eggs due to the ongoing volatility and high prices for any graded product.

What is your biggest selling product? Can you tell us what need it fills for buyers?

Our extended shelf life liquid eggs have the most demand by far due to their ease of use and versatility — you can use them in almost any egg recipe except sunny-side up/fried. With the industry’s longest shelf life, we’ve also seen increased demand for our branded products as operators look for ways to manage demand volatility while taking advantage of labor savings.

What shifts in buying patterns have you seen with this or other products?

Since COVID, our entire line of products has continued to gain interest from operators who used to be devout users of traditional shell eggs. The increased food safety, yield and convenience, coupled with a much more stable price point, has always been our point of difference, but these benefits have never been more critical back-of-house than they are today.

Have prices gone up in the wholesale market?

Yes, significantly. Completely driven by lack of supply.

When can buyers expect relief from egg prices?

This is one we wish we could answer, but the simple fact is that as long as HPAI is in the environment, the industry is going to have a difficult time repopulating its layer flock to where it needs to be. We’re more than 30 million birds short of where we likely need to be.

If there are egg shortages, how does Michael Foods approach keeping everyone supplied?

During these events, our entire approach comes with as much integrity as possible by keeping everyone in line with their forecasted demand. While it would be nice to fill the surge in orders we are seeing for our products from new operators, it simply wouldn't be ethical to our legacy customers.

What are you doing to prepare for any potential continued supply disruptions?

Biosecurity is our number one defense and continues to be our primary focus. Without it, the most recent outbreaks most certainly would have been even worse.

What SKUs do you recommend for Entegra clients?

This can range greatly from the liquid eggs already mentioned to our pasteurized shell eggs, which allow operators to still crack eggs back of house without the risk of cross contamination. Beyond that, we have the industries’ broadest portfolio of hard-cooked eggs and precooked eggs, including omelets, patties, egg bites, French toast and more, that all make it easy to execute all your signature egg-centric menu items with ease.

What food safety measures does Michael Foods use to ensure a safe egg product?

All our products are pasteurized and/or fully cooked. This, along with our stringent processing guidelines, ensures we can offer the safest eggs available.

We also offer free continuing education courses for professionals including RDNs, DTRs, Certified Chefs and CDM, CFPPs. Check out their free online self-study continuing education programs here.

As one of their valued suppliers, we'd love to hear a success story related to Entegra.

Michael Foods created a customized product demonstration specifically for Entegra clients. The goal was to showcase how our value-added egg and potato products can significantly reduce back-of-house labor while providing consistent quality and pricing stability.

The response from Entegra clients has been overwhelmingly positive, with operators reporting meaningful time savings and greater efficiency in their kitchens. We’re proud to support Entegra clients with solutions that make a real operational impact.

Contact Entegra to learn how we can help get more savings from high-quality suppliers like Michael Foods today!

Read more in our free guide: Entegra egg outlook: Avian influenza in review