The largest producer of fresh eggs in the U.S. has temporarily halted production at a Texas plant after detecting bird flu in chickens, the company announced on Tuesday, noting that the virus was also found at a facility in Michigan.
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. — which is based in Ridgeland, Mississippi — said in a statement that an estimated 1.6 million laying hens and 337,000 pullets were destroyed after being infected with avian influenza at the facility in Parmer County, Texas. That number accounts for approximately 3.6 percent of the facility’s total flock, the Associated Press reported.
The plant is located on the Texas-New Mexico border in the state’s panhandle, about 370 miles northwest of Dallas. The company said it sells most of its eggs in the midwestern, mid-Atlantic, southeastern, and southwestern regions of the United States, according to the report.
“The Company continues to work closely with federal, state and local government officials and focused industry groups to mitigate the risk of future outbreaks and effectively manage the response,” the statement said.
“Cal-Maine Foods is working to secure production from other facilities to minimize disruption to its customers,” the statement said.
The company added that it does not know of a risk associated with eggs already on the market and noted that no eggs have been recalled.
“The announcement by Cal-Maine comes a day after state health officials said a person had been diagnosed with bird flu after being in contact with cows presumed to be infected, and that the risk to the public remains low,” according to the report.
Federal health officials said the human case in Texas marks the first known instance in the world of a person catching this version of the bird flu from a mammal.
Michigan State University’s Diagnostic Laboratory also found bird flu in a commercial poultry facility in Ionia County, according to the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
“The department said it received confirmation of the disease Monday from the lab and that it is the fourth time since 2022 that the disease was detected at a commercial facility in Michigan,” according to the report.
Department spokesperson Jennifer Holton said the facility is currently under quarantine and that the department does not expect supply chain disruptions across the state. Holton also said state law bars the department from stating what kind of poultry is at the facility.
“Dairy cows in Texas and Kansas were reported to be infected with bird flu last week — and federal agriculture officials later confirmed infections in a Michigan dairy herd that had recently received cows from Texas,” according to the report. “A dairy herd in Idaho has been added to the list after federal agriculture officials confirmed the detection of bird flu in them, according to a Tuesday press release from the USDA [United States Department of Agriculture].”
