(NAFB.com) – The egg industry has been watched closely as rising egg prices and shortages in retail stores across the U.S. have drawn negative attention to the industry. Feedstuffs says the supply has gotten short enough that some stores are limiting how many packages of eggs customers can buy at one time, while restaurants are adding extra charges to diners who order items with eggs. Emily Metz, president and CEO of the American Egg Board, says the disruption in supply and rising prices are due to the continued impact of bird flu on the nation’s poultry flocks. The HPAI outbreak is in its fourth year of affecting U.S. birds, and it will take a “sustained period” with no additional HPAI detections on American poultry farms to help stabilize the egg supply. But demand is beginning to moderate ahead of the Easter season. Egg prices are down by almost 22 percent in the wholesale market.