JOHN DAY — A John Day grocery store has been cleared of price gouging after complaints were lodged about the price of eggs.

Chester’s Thriftway fended off complaints of price gouging and were officially cleared by the Oregon Department of Justice on April 7.

“It is clear you have not used the COVID virus emergency as a cause to price gouge on the price of eggs,” said Dale Geiger with Oregon DOJ in an email shared on the grocery store’s Facebook page.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said wholesale egg prices have tripled since the beginning of March. According to the same report from the USDA, many grocers are taking losses by not passing along the increase to their customers.

Operations Manager Bill Wyllie said Chester’s was among those grocers last month, after their egg supplier requested a retraction on an advertisement because they could not honor the published sale of two dozen eggs for $4.

Price gouging, according to the DOJ website, is the sale of essential consumer goods or services at an “unconscionably excessive price” after the governor declares that an abnormal disruption of the market exists. The law covers retail outlets, merchants and wholesalers that sell essential consumer goods, such as food, water, fuel, medical supplies and hotel rooms. Whether a product or service is essential depends on the nature of the emergency. Hand soap, hand sanitizer and toilet paper are considered items that protect the safety, health and welfare of the public during the COVID-19 emergency.