Ever-rising egg prices, supply shortages, egg thefts and reports of bodegas selling loose eggs confirm strong demand for the kitchen staple even as avian flu infects and kills more of the birds that produce them.

The price of eggs at U.S. grocery stores has climbed to a record high, nearly doubling from a year ago, as outbreaks of bird flu have led to shortages by wiping out millions of hens.

Eggs are being confiscated at the U.S. border with Mexico amid a bird flu outbreak that has depleted chicken populations.