Trader Joe's Limits Egg Purchases

The latest entry in the eggs-are-expensive front: Trader Joe's is limiting customers to buying one dozen per day. "Due to ongoing issues with the supply of eggs, we are currently limiting egg purchases to one dozen per customer, per day," a chain spokesperson tells KTLA. The limit applies to all of the store's roughly 600 locations. A spokesperson for Kroger's, meanwhile, said the rival chain was not mandating the same type of nationwide limit, but acknowledged that some stores were enforcing a two-dozen-per-day limit, depending on their egg supply, per CNN.

The move comes amid a surge in egg prices because of the spread of avian flu across poultry farms in the country. And not just farms: In New York City, authorities say at least three and as many as 15 birds have died of the virus at two city zoos, reports the AP. The deaths involve ducks at the Queens Zoo and wild birds at the Bronx Zoo. Lab tests were pending. Last week, the city temporarily ordered the closure of all live poultry markets. (Waffle House recently instituted a 50-cent surcharge for any egg dish.)