An image of an empty supermarket fridge that would normally contain eggs has highlighted the impact of bird flu on the country’s poultry supplies as farmers struggle to stop the spread.
A Melbourne man took to social media on Sunday to share an image showing a lack of eggs at a local Woolworths store, despite purchasing limits being introduced.
“They are killing all the chickens. THERE ARE NO EGGS,” he wrote.
This comes as the bird flu outbreak continues to spread, with 11 farms in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria affected, resulting in the deaths of more than one million chickens.
This has led to a massive egg shortage, with Woolworths customers in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria last week limited to two cartons as the outbreak stifled supplies.
Coles introduced a similar policy in early June.
McDonald’s is also feeling the impact, announcing this week that its egg-heavy breakfast menu will be discontinued at 10:30 a.m. instead of noon to limit usage.
Australian Eggs boss Rowan McMonnies acknowledged there would be some disruption to the supply chain as a result of the mass culls.
An image of an empty fridge at Woolworths that would normally contain eggs has highlighted the impact of bird flu on the country’s poultry supplies.
Both Coles and Woolworths have introduced limits on egg purchases, with many Australians struggling to get their hands on them.
But he said that at worst consumers would experience little inconvenience when trying to buy them, adding: “If they want eggs, they will get them.”
“You may not be able to get eggs every time you normally do, (but) there will still be plenty of eggs available over the winter,” she told ABC Radio.
“We are really warning against any form of panic… there is no food safety issue in relation to these incidents. Eggs, chicken meat and duck meat are safe to eat and consumers should not be concerned about it.”
Experts say the disease does not pose a risk to human health, but McMonnies said culling the poultry was the right move because of the “terrible” impact it has on their welfare.
“The idea that we can just let this get out of control is not correct at all… these things need to be eradicated and eliminated because they are so damaging,” he said.
The H7 strain of bird flu virus detected in Australia is not the H5N1 strain that has infected billions of animals worldwide and raised fears of transmission to humans.
Egg shortage at a Coles supermarket in Canberra on Sunday
Workers in hazmat suits clean a truck in a quarantine zone after an outbreak of bird flu in Victoria