The Detroit-Windsor crossing, for instance, witnessed a 36% increase in ‘interceptions of eggs’ between Oct. 2024 and Feb. 2025
As egg prices soar to record highs in the U.S., Customs and Border Protection is catching more people crossing the northern border with prohibited Canadian eggs in tow.
Because of the ongoing Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak ravaging the U.S. poultry industry, doing so is “generally prohibited,” the CBP told the National Post.
Between October 2024 and February 2025 at the Detroit-Windsor crossing, for instance, the field office has witnessed a 36 per cent increase in “interceptions of eggs” compared to the same time last year. The agency avoids using the term “smuggling” because most of the confiscated eggs are declared and surrendered freely without consequence.
“There have been very few cases of people purposefully evading the inspection process/failing to declare the product,” CBP’s spokesperson wrote via email. “When that happens a $300 civil penalty is applied and the eggs are seized.”
In some cases, grocery stores are limiting purchases and restaurants are applying surcharges for meals using eggs.
The three-year HPAI outbreak has resulted in the death of 166 million birds in the U.S.
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