Attorney General Ken Paxton has reached a settlement with Cal-Maine Foods Inc., requiring the major egg supplier to donate more than 2 million eggs to food banks statewide after allegations of illegal price hikes during the COVID-19 crisis.
The agreement resolves a lawsuit filed in April 2020 accusing Cal-Maine of violating state law by inflating egg prices by about 300%.
As part of the deal, the company will provide 180,000 dozen large brown or white eggs over the next 120 days.
“My office will crack down on any corporation illegally raising prices on Texans,” Attorney General Paxton said in a news release. “Cal-Maine tried to take advantage of the people of Texas during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this settlement is an important step towards securing justice for the company’s unethical actions.
“Our efforts to hold Cal-Maine accountable have secured reforms that will help prevent any further illegal price gouging and over two million free eggs that will be distributed by food banks across the state.”
The eggs will go to various organizations:
- at least 30,000 dozen each to the North Texas Food Bank and Houston Food Bank;
- 20,000 dozen each to the Tarrant Area Food Bank, Central Texas Food Bank, and San Antonio Food Bank;
- 10,000 dozen each to the Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley, East Texas Food Bank, and El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank;
- 5,000 dozen each to the Coastal Bend Food Bank, South Texas Food Bank, Southeast Texas Food Bank, and South Plains Food Bank; and
- 2,000 dozen each to the High Plains Food Bank, the West Texas Food Bank, the Food Bank of West Central Texas, the Food Bank of the Golden Crescent, and the Wichita Falls Area Food Bank.
Cal-Maine is also prohibited from charging prices during declared disaster periods that breach the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, aiming to curb future violations like those in 2020.
The settlement marks a rare moment of corporate accountability from the pandemic’s chaotic early months. While toilet paper shortages grabbed headlines, many essential food items saw dramatic price spikes, hurting vulnerable Texans the most.
