Some KFC locations in South and Victoria are removing chicken nuggets from the menu due to supply chain problems that the fast food giant has failed to adequately explain.
The fast food company has denied any connection between the current wave of avian flu in Australia and the ‘disruption’ in its supply chain.
Customers will now have to opt for Popcorn Chicken instead of nuggets.
KFC said they’re collaborating with their suppliers to restore order and replenish impacted areas as soon as possible.
There have been six instances of avian influenza found in Victorian poultry farms, leading to concerns about potential egg shortages and huge cullings of birds.
There have been many false claims, and conspiracy theories circulated online regarding the threat to food supply and the possibility of COVID-19-style lockdowns as a result of the virus’s worldwide spread.
According to some internet users, the WHO would leverage the epidemic as an excuse to impose martial law or postpone national elections.
Two different strains of bird flu, H7N3 and H7N9, were found in Victoria, but the more serious one, H5N1, is circulating in Europe and North America, according to experts.
According to Dr. Joanna Sillince, chief executive of the Australian Chicken Growers Council, companies and governments have responded to the local epidemic in a “textbook” manner, with “perfect harmony” between the two.
Dr. Sillince also dismissed concerns about possible food shortages, assuring people that eggs and chickens in Victoria are “plentiful” and can be consumed without worry.
Repeated attempts to get KFC to clarify the nature of the supply chain problem were met with silence.
Coles reduced egg purchases when the avian flu epidemic in Victoria extended across farms, adding fuel to conspiracy theories. Except in Western Australia, all other states had a limit of two cartons per customer.
Flying in the face of panic-inducing theories, it would appear that rival grocery chains Woolworths and Aldi have not yet instituted egg-buying restrictions.
