A bird flu outbreak at the largest U.S. chicken egg producer could affect egg prices

Cases of eggs from Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., await to be handed out by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce employees at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds in Jackson, Miss., on Aug. 7, 2020. (Rogelio V. Solis/AP)

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., the largest producer of fresh eggs in the U.S., has temporarily halted production at one of its facilities in Texas after detecting bird flu there, the company announced Tuesday.

The company says it "depopulated" about 1.6 million laying hens and 337,000 pullets, or about 3.6% of its flock, as a result of the outbreak.