Soaring egg prices have consumers boiling, and on Wednesday, the United States Department of Agriculture blamed rising costs on the bird flu epidemic and said it will take new steps to quell the outbreak.

The U.S. will invest up to $1 billion to combat the spread of bird flu, as well as increase imports of eggs in an effort to drive down high prices, agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins said on Wednesday.

With egg prices soaring due to a severe bird flu outbreak, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a $1 billion plan to contain the disease and help poultry farmers recover.