Australia’s egg shortage: what you need to know

A photo of an empty supermarket fridge shows a shortage of eggs, which stores say is the result of bird flu on poultry farms.

A Melbourne man shared a photo of empty shelves at a local Woolworths store, despite restrictions on purchasing aimed at preventing such shortages.

“They are killing all the chickens. NO EGGS,” he wrote.

This comes as the outbreak of bird flu continues to spread. Across New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria, 11 farms have been affected, killing more than a million chickens.

Last week, Woolworths implemented rationing for customers in NSW, ACT and Victoria, limiting them to two boxes as the outbreak restricted deliveries.

Coles introduced a similar policy earlier in June.

McDonald’s is also feeling the pressure and announced this week that its egg-heavy breakfast menu will no longer be served at 10:30 a.m., instead of noon, in a bid to limit the number of guests.

Rowan McMonnies, managing director of Australian Eggs, acknowledged the mass cull would cause disruptions to the supply chain.

An image of an empty fridge in Woolworths, which would normally contain eggs, has highlighted the impact of bird flu on the country’s poultry supply

Both Coles and Woolworths have introduced restrictions on egg purchases, and many Australians are struggling to get their hands on them

But he said consumers who shop around can still find eggs, even if one store is temporarily out of eggs.

“If you want eggs, you’ll get them,” said Mr. McMonnie.

You may not be able to eat eggs at all times as you normally would, [but] “There will still be plenty of eggs available over the winter,” he told ABC Radio.

“We really caution against any kind of panic… there are no food safety issues related to these incidents. Eggs, chicken, duck are all safe to eat and consumers should not be concerned about them.”

Experts say bird flu poses no risk to human health, but Mr McMonnies said culling poultry was the right approach because of the “terrible” impact it has on the birds and the industry.

“The idea that we can just let it happen and it can get out of control is completely wrong. These things need to be eradicated and eradicated because they are very damaging,” he said.

The H7 strain of bird flu virus found in Australia is not the H5N1 strain that has infected billions of animals worldwide and raised fears of transmission to humans.

Egg shortage at Coles supermarket in Canberra on Sunday

Workers in protective suits clean a truck in a quarantine area following a bird flu outbreak in Victoria