The average cost of Thanksgiving dinner this year will rise to a record, topping $50 for the first time, as turkey prices jump 6.4 percent after the worst-ever outbreak of avian influenza wiped out millions of the birds, a farm group said.

The 12 items typically served during the holiday meal will rise 1.4 percent to an average $50.11 for 10 people from $49.41 in 2014, the American Farm Bureau Federation in Washington said Thursday. A turkey weighing 16 pounds will increase to $23.04 from $21.65. Sweet potatoes, rolls, stuffing and pumpkin-pie mix and shells were up 1 cent to 8 cents, according to a survey by 138 volunteer shoppers in 32 states.

Bird flu destroyed more than 7.7 million turkeys earlier this year, government data show.


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