Police in Pennsylvania are searching for thieves who stole a shipment of 100,000 organic eggs.
The haul is worth more than $40,000 at retail, and the theft comes at a time when there is a shortage of the product on the market.
According to police officer Megan Fraser, who took over the investigation of the case, this is the first time in her 12-year career that she has been looking for egg thieves.
But she recalled a similar case a decade ago, when someone stole a truckload of chickens.
“This is a felony, because of the value of the items stolen,” the officer emphasized.
The theft occurred Saturday night in Greencastle, from the warehouse of a wholesaler.
The price of eggs has risen 50% since last year in the United States, according to the consumer price index released last Friday.
Poultry farmers are grappling with a bird flu outbreak that has forced them to cull millions of chickens to stop the spread of the disease.
More than 13 million chickens have been culled or died since December, according to the Department of Agriculture. At the end of January, the average price of eggs was $5.29 per carton, up from $3.50 a year earlier.
Some supermarket shelves are empty, and the Waffle House restaurant chain, famous for its breakfast, has imposed a 50-cent surcharge on eggs.
