An image of an empty supermarket fridge that would usually contain eggs has highlighted the impact of bird flu on the nation’s poultry supplies as farmers battle to stop the spread.
A Melbourne man took to social media on Sunday to share an image showing the lack of eggs at a local Woolworths store, despite buying limits being introduced.
‘They’re slaughtering all the chickens. NO EGGS,’ he wrote.
It comes as the bird flu outbreak continues to spread, with 11 farms across NSW, the ACT and Victoria impacted, resulting in more than one million chickens being killed.
This has led to a mass egg shortage, and last week Woolworths customers in NSW, ACT, and Victoria were limited to two cartons as the outbreak stifled supplies.
Coles introduced a similar policy earlier in June.
McDonald’s is also feeling the pinch, announcing this week its egg-heavy breakfast menu would be stopped at 10.30am instead of midday to limit use.
Australian Eggs boss Rowan McMonnies acknowledged some supply chain disruption would be experienced as a result of the mass culls.
An image of an empty fridge in Woolworths that would usually contain eggs has highlighted the impact of bird flu on the nation’s poultry supplies
Both Coles and Woolworths have introduced egg-buying limits, with many Aussies struggling to get their hands on them
But he said consumers would at worst see a minor inconvenience when trying to purchase, adding: ‘If you want eggs, you will get them.’
‘You may not be able to get eggs every time you usually do, [but] there’s still going to be a lot of eggs available over winter,’ he told ABC Radio.
‘We really are cautioning against any form of panic… there’s no food safety issue in relation to these incidents. Eggs, chicken meat, duck meat are all safe to eat and consumers need have no concern in that regard.’
Experts say the disease does not pose a risk to human health, but Mr McMonnies said culling poultry was the correct course of action due to the ‘terrible’ welfare impact it has on them.
‘The notion we could let it rip and let this go out of control is not right at all… these things need to be eradicated and stamped out, because they’re very damaging,’ he said.
The H7 strain of the bird flu virus that has been detected in Australia is not the H5N1 strain which has infected billions of animals globally and raised fears of transmission to humans.
A shortage of eggs at a Coles supermarket in Canberra on Sunday
Hazmat-suited workers cleaning a truck in a quarantine zone after an outbreak of bird flu in Victoria
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